The wonder-worker of Padua

JOHN M. KELLY LIBDADY

Donated by

The Redemptorists of
the Toronto Province

from the Library Collection of
Holy Redeemer College, Windsor

University of
St. Michael's College, Toronto

HOLY REDEEMER LIBRfflfV, V»i,ii)SOR

THE WONDER-WORKER OF PADUA

THE WONDER-WORKER
OF PADUA

BY

CHARLES WARREN STQDDARD

THE AVE MARIA

NOTRE DAME. INDIANA
U. S. A.

x7

HOLY REDEEMER I.I$ARY. WINDSOR

*

COPYRIGHT, 1896
BY D. E. HUDSON. C. S. C.

To the

C. W. S. R. C, Salem, Mass..
with Aloha

THE WONDER-WORKER OF
PADUA

PROLOGUE. — THE FIVE FRIARS.

THE afternoon shadows were
lengthening under the walls of the
monastery of Santa Cruz, a house
of the Canons Regular of St. Au
gustine, at Coimbra. Life within
that holy house stole on as slowly,
as regularly, and for the most part
as silently, as those deepening
shadows. Each morning it was re
newed as cheerfully as broke the
dawn upon the waves that wash
the shores of Portugal; each noon
it was radiant with the fulness of
spiritual joy ; each evening it hush
ed itself to rest with prayer and
praise; and these three epochs in
the daily life of the cloister were
heralded by the mellow peal of the
Angelus as it was wafted over the
embosoming hills, and throbbed in
to silence in far-off, fainting
echoes.

[7]

8 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

Now and again something oc
curred in the monastery — some
thing slight in itself, but enough to
break in upon the peaceful current
of events and create an interest or
excitement that fairly startled the
gentle occupants. There were
guests from time to time — quite a
number of them; for the worldly
are ever curious concerning the in
ner life of those who though in the
world are not of it. Therefore there
was a guest-master at Santa Cruz,
as there is always a guest-master
in every monastery; and his office
it is to receive those who desire to
see the chapels, the relics, the clois
ters. It is the duty and the pleasure
of this guest-master to conduct
visitors through the monastery and
to entertain them ; and thus relieve
the friars from all distractions,
such as sudden and unexpected
calls from prayer or labor.

One day at Santa Cruz five
stranger guests arrived — three
priests and two lay-brothers, dis
ciples of St. Francis, whose Order
was then but ten years old. These
friars had been assigned to the mis
sion in Morocco, and were on their

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 9

way thither when they sought the
hospitality of the Abbey of Santa
Cruz. Who shall say that it was
chance alone that brought them
thither? They were Franciscans.
Not far distant from Coimbra, the
pious Queen of Portugal had estab
lished the Convent of St. Anthony
of Olivares; it was situated in an
olive grove, whence it derived its
name. The house was small and
poor, but it was large enough to
shelter the five friars; and the
Brother Questor, whose duty it was
to ask alms for the needs of the
brethren, would have gladly shared
his frugal fare with these apostles
who were on their way to martyr
dom in Morocco. But they passed
Olivares and sought the gates of
Santa Cruz, and were there given
heartfelt welcome.

Was it for this reason that, as
the Franciscan chronicles tell us,
"Queen Urraca sent for and lov
ingly received the friars?" For in
deed she held their Order in great
esteem, and inquired many things
concerning their errand, most
courteously offering to supply all
their wants. Not content with the

10 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

brief account of their General's in
tention which they gave her, this
lady, thirsting as the hart for the
word of God, engaged them in
spiritual discourse, drawing thence
much sweetness and consolation;
then, taking them apart, she be
sought them, for the love of Him
for whose sweet name they were
going to torments and death, to beg
of Almighty God to reveal to them
the day on which she should die.
And, albeit the friars endeavored
by all means to escape her impor
tunity, saying that they were most
unworthy to know the secrets of
the Lord, and other words of like
import, yet did she at length pre
vail with them to give her that
promise which she craved. And so,
after fervent prayer, they again
came before the Queen and bade
her be of good courage ; for that it
was the will of God that her end
should be very shortly, and before
that of the King, her husband.
Moreover, they gave her a sure
sign; for, "Know, lady," they said,
"that before many days we shall
die by the sword for the faith of
Christ. Praised be His Divine Maj-

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 11

esty, who has chosen us, poor men,
to be in the number of His mar
tyrs ! Our bodies shall be brought
into this city with great devotion
by the Christians of Morocco, and
you and your husband shall go to
meet them. When these things
shall come to pass, know that the
time is come for you to leave this
world and go to God."

The guest-master of Santa Cruz
was a youth of four and twenty,
who was already ordained. He had
a marvellously beautiful counte
nance and was singularly engag
ing in manner. Naturally, he was
thrown much in the society of the
friars, and often conversed with
them of the extraordinary histoiy
of Portiuncula and of the miracles
wrought by their seraphic Father,
St. Francis of Assisi. Certain it is
that the five friars perished in
their blood at the hands of the infi
dels. Their bodies were brought
home in solemn state, attended by
various supernatural manifesta
tions calculated to inspire rever
ence and awe.

It was the King's wish that these
relics of the first Franciscan mar-

12 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

tyrs should rest in the principal
church of the capital; but they
were mysteriously guided or con
veyed to the monastery of Santa
Cruz, where they had lodged, and
where his Majesty had a superb
chapel erected, in which the relics
were reposited.

Many marvels were witnessed at
that shrine, and these deeply
touched the heart and the spirit of
the young guest-master. But a few
months before he had held converse
with these very friars, who were
then joyously seeking the palm and
the crown of martyrdom ; now they
vvere in paradise, and he was kneel
ing beside their holy dust, — a poor
friar groping blindly after that
light that should illumine him and
make clear his path of life.

One day, kneeling at that tomb,
his heart aflame with love and
veneration, from the depths of his
soul he cried out: "0 that the
Most High would grant me to be
associated with them in their glo
rious sufferings ! That to me also it
were given to be persecuted for the
faith — to bare my neck to the exe
cutioners! Will that blessed day

The Wonder-Worker of Padua IS

ever dawn for thee, Fernando?
Will such happiness ever be
thine?" Thus, through chaste com
munion with the five friars — call it
not chance that brought their
hearts together, — through the suf
ferings, by the sacrifice, and at the
tomb of the five martyrs, did Fer
nando de Bouillon find his voca
tion.

I.

FERNANDO THE NOVICE.

WHO was Fernando de Bouillon?
He was the son of Martino de
Bouillon, and Teresa Tavera, his
wife, who were of ancient lineage
and noble birth. Don Martino de
scended from the illustrious God
frey de Bouillon, who led the first
Crusade and was the first Frank-
ish King of Jerusalem. He was the
grandson of Vincenzo de Bouillon,
who followed King Alfonzo I. in
his campaign against the Moors,
and who, in acknowledgment of his
deeds of valor, was made governor
of Lisbon. This office became hered
itary in the family of De Bouillon ;
and Fernando, as first son of the
house, was heir to it. And Dona
Teresa was hardly less illustrious.
Her ancestors had reigned over the
Asturias in the eighth century, un
til the invasion by the Saracens.

Don Martino and Dona Teresa
occupied a sumptuous palace close

[14]

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 15

to the cathedral of Lisbon. Here
Fernando was born on the 15th of
August, 1195. Eight days after his
birth he was carried with great
pomp to the cathedral, and there
received in baptism the name of
Fernando.

Though nothing of a prophetic
nature preceded the birth of Fer
nando, it was soon evident that he
was no ordinary child. Born on
the Feast of the Assumption, it
was at the shrine of Our Lady
del' Pilar he received the grace of
baptism. To the Blessed Virgin his
mother consecrated the babe when
returning from the baptismal font ;
Maria was the first name he learn
ed to utter, and the hymn he heard
of tenest from his mother's lips was
"0 Gloriosa Domina !" As a child,
the sight of an image or a painting
of the Madonna would change his
tears to smiles ; as a religious, he
placed himself under the special
protection of the Blessed Virgin ;
as an apostle he was her champion,
ever sounding her praises, ever
ready to do battle in her cause. At
the age of ten, beautiful in form
and feature, with an inner spirit-

16 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

ual beauty that gave his face an al
most angelic expression, possessed
of a sweet and gladsome nature, a
quick intelligence and a lively
imagination, he had already shown
a preference for the secluded paths
of a religious life.

During five years of his infancy
Fernando attended the cathedral
school in Lisbon, clothed in the
garb of a cleric. He was a pattern
of all the proprieties. In this ex
quisitely refined child virtue blos
somed like a flower, and breathed
forth a delicate fragrance that all
who approached him became con
scious of.

It was now he gave the first
manifestation of that power which,
through him, was to work wonders
so long as he lived, — wonders that
have never ceased, and are never
to cease in this ever-wondering
world. Kneeling one day at the
shrine of Our Lady in the cathe
dral, his eyes on the tabernacle
wherein the Blessed Sacrament
was veiled, a demon, one of those
baleful spirits that still tempt and
delude the unwary, appeared be
fore him. Startled as he was, with

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 17

the pious instinct of nature he
traced upon the marble step where
he was kneeling the Sign of the
Cross. The vision vanished, but to
this hour is seen that sacred sym
bol indelibly impressed upon the
marble. In that hour Fernando's
fate was sealed.

With everything to make life al
luring — youth, beauty, health,
wealth, high birth and gentle
breeding, devoted parents and idol
izing friends — the child turned
from them all. It was his destiny.
Already able to meditate upon the
foolish rewards of life and labors
in the world and for the world
alone, Fernando exclaimed: "0
world, how burthensome thou art
become ! Thy power is but that of
a fragile reed; thy riches are as
a puff of smoke, and thy pleasures
like a treacherous rock whereon
virtue is shipwrecked."

He seems to have resolved on this
occasion to enter the religious life ;
to turn from the luxurious delights
that had never appealed to his
nature, and accept poverty, humil
ity, and obedience as his portion.
This resolution once formed, noth-

18 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

ing could cause him to recon
sider it.

At the gate of the Abbey of St.
Vincent he implored admission;
"being attracted thither," as the
chronicle quaintly records, "by the
renown for learning and holiness
of its men." Surely nothing could
have offered him a more pleasing
prospect than the society of such
as these; nothing afforded him
more perfect satisfaction.

II.

FERNANDO THE SCHOLASTIC.

WHAT wonder that the child should
have turned from the world in his
fifteenth year, when most children
at that stage of development find
an indescribable joy in mere physi
cal existence? From his earliest
infancy his life was an involuntary
consecration. He was meekness,
compassion, love personified. He
had a special devotion to the im
poverished and all those in sorrow
and affliction. He was never known
to utter a falsehood. All the offices
of the Church were dear to him.
He never failed to hear Mass daily,
and joyfully and most reverently
to serve. Our Blessed Lady, pattern
of purity, was his chosen patron
ess. For the amusements which
were the delight of his companions
he cared nothing; the pleasures of
life he never knew, and hoped
never to know. He was the natur
al enemy of idleness; was instinc
tively studious; and of a sweet

[19]

20 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

solemnity, which did not oppress
but rather edified his associates,
and endeared him to them.

What wonder that he should
turn from the madding crowd and
seek the seclusion of a cloister?
There was nothing unwholesome,
nothing unnatural in his resolve to
quit the world while yet a child in
years. For a youth of his temper
ament — a temperament which
was an angelic heritage — there is
really but one step to be taken;
firmly, but in all humility, he took
it.

Without the walls of Lisbon
stood the Monastery of St. Vincent,
a house of the Canons Regular of
St. Augustine. Having obtained the
leave of his parents, he went thith
er ; and, casting himself at the feet
of the prior — called by some Gon-
salvo Mendez and by others Pela-
gius, — he asked to be admitted to
the holy brotherhood. Naturally
edified by the gentle and reverent
spirit of the youth who knelt before
him, the prior received him with
affectionate tenderness, and in due
course of time he was clothed in the
white robe of the Order.

The. Wonder-Worker of Padua SI

What happiness of heart was
his, what peace of spirit, what se
renity of soul! Alas! they were
short-lived. His friends, missing
him sorely sought him at all sea
sons. If he had before this been to
them an engaging mystery, a sur
prise by reason of his unlikeness
to them and to any other whom
they knew, he was now, clad in the
pale robe of the Augustinians,
their wonder and delight. He drew
them irresistibly to the monastery,
and their well-meant but ill-timed
visitations were a distraction
which he could not long endure.

Two years were enough, and
more than enough, to assure him
that at St. Vincent's, let him strive
never so bravely against such a
fate, he was in danger of losing his
vocation. He must seek security in
solitude, in exile ; and that without
delay, if he would attain the per
fection which was his aim in life.
It was in no bitterness of spirit,
no pride, no impatience, he turned
from all who loved him most. It
was an honest and an earnest effort
on his part to reach that state of
grace for which his heart was hun-

22 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

gering night and day. At St. Vin
cent's he was neighbor to the world
and the worldly life he cared not
for. He must fly hence, at any
cost to comfort, temporal or spirit
ual. He must steel his heart to the
sweet assaults of earthly love; for
the unity, peace and concord he
sought found no abiding place un
der heaven save in cloistral seclu
sion.

The prior of St. Vincent's had,
during the two years of Fernando's
sojourn there, beheld with joy the
fervor of the youth ; and when that
youth implored him to be allowed
to depart into some other house of
the Order — some house far re
moved from Lisbon and the voices
that were constantly crying to him
to return to them again, — the prior
was for a season loath to give him
leave; but, as the old chronicler
says: "Having at length, by tears
and prayers, obtained the consent
of his superior, he quitted not the
army in which he was enlisted, but
the scene of combat; not through
caprice, but in a transport of fer
vor."

III.

FERNANDO THE AUGUSTINIAN
CANON.

NEARLY a hundred miles from Lis
bon stood the Abbey of Santa Cruz.
It was lapped in the seclusion of
Coimbra; it was far from the
trials, the temptations, the tribula
tions of the work-a-day world. It
was the motherhouse of the Au-
gustinians, the head cradle of the
Order. The sweet influences of the
saintly Theaton, its first prior, still
perfumed it. It was the centre
and the source of all the noblest
traditions of the tribe, the inspira
tion of the clergy, the consolation
and the pride of the loyal and wide
ly scattered brotherhood.

The Abbey was a far-famed seat
of learning. There Religion and
Letters went hand in hand. Don
John and Don Raymond, both
Doctors of the University of Paris,
were among the scholars at Santa
Cruz. For a student, for a reli-

[23]

2>t The Wonder-Worker of Padua

gious, for a recluse, there was no
retreat in Portugal more desirable
than this; and thither Fernando
was sent.

His new brethren were not long
in convincing themselves that Fer-
nando's change of residence had
not been made without reflection,
and that the love of novelty had
no share in his decision. He had,
it is true, ardently longed for soli
tude and tranquillity ; but, far from
seeking therein a dispensation
from the rigor of monastic life, he
sought but a means to perfect him
self in virtue. At Lisbon he had
read the literature of pagan antiq
uity; at Santa Cruz he devoted
himself to the study of theology,
the Fathers, history, religious con
troversy. Above all these, the Sa
cred Scriptures won his ardent at
tention.

He was seventeen years of age
when he entered Santa Cruz. He
svas completely detached from the
world. Nature had in every way
richly endowed him. His memory
was prodigious. All knowledge
came to him freely, without effort ;
and, once acquired, it never left

The Wonder-Worker of Padua S5

him more, but, beautifully adjust
ed and ready for instant use, it
seemed literally at his tongue's end.

Eight years he passed at Santa
Cruz, in obedience, in prayer, in
study. He grew continually in vir
tue — he was virtue's self. Devoted
to his books, he never permitted
the study of them to interfere with
the pious duties allotted him. On
one occasion, being employed in
some remote part of the Abbey, he
heard the note of the Elevation
bell; turning toward the chapel,
he prostrated himself, and beheld
the distant altar, and the Sacred
Host in the hands of the celebrant,
— beheld them all as plainly as if
the intervening walls had vanished
away.

Nor was this the only wonder
he worked at Santa Cruz. While
nursing one of the religious, the
patient — a victim of obsession —
became uncontrollable. Fernando,
spreading the hem of his mantle
over the sufferer, brought to him
instant and permanent relief.

His erudition grew to be the
subject of general comment. He
knew the Holy Bible by heart; he

86 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

seemed to have taken the sense and
substance of it to his soul, so that
it became a part of him. In one
of his commentaries he wrote : "0
divine Word, admirable Word, that
inebriatest and changest the heart,
Thou art the limpid source that
refreshest the parched soul; the
ray of hope that givest comfort to
the poor sinner; the faithful mes
senger that bringest glad tidings to
us exiles of our heavenly country!"
He never forgot what he had
once studied; though the time was
to come when the calls upon him
were so many and so various he
had no moment in which to read
anything save only his breviary.

IV.

FERNANDO BECOMES ANTONIO.

NOT far from the Monastery of
Santa Cruz, at Olivares, stood the
Franciscan Abbey of the Olives.
This holy house was small and
poor. It was named in honor of
St. Anthony of the Desert; his
poverty, his frugality, his sobriety
were patterns for the frati who
dw^elt there. They lived upon the
tribute gathered by the humble
supplicants who went forth daily
asking alms of the faithful. Often
they had knocked at Fernando's
door ; often he had shared his bread
and his wine with them; and he
was beginning to feel a personal in
terest in them when the five friars
who were afterward martyred in
Morocco sought the hospitality of
Santa Cruz, where he soon grew to
know them intimately.

The martyrdom of the friars, the
transportation of their relics to
Portugal, and the shrine prepared

[27]

28 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

for them at Santa Cruz, the knowl
edge he had gained of the origin
and development of the Franciscan
Order, inspired Fernando with a
longing to become himself a follow
er of St. Francis.

Now the solitude he had sought
and found in the cloister at Santa
Cruz began to pale. He feared he
was wasting his life; he felt that
his energy and enthusiasm should
be placed at the disposal of those
who were in crying need ; and sure
ly there were many such. He would
even follow in the footsteps of the
five friars; he also would offer his
body to be martyred for Christ's
sake and for love of his f ellowmen.
Therefore when the Brother Ques-
tor, whose duty it was to ask alms
for the needs of the Convent at Oli-
vares, came to Santa Cruz, Fer
nando talked long and earnestly
with him concerning the rule of his
Order and the wonderful founder
thereof.

This Brother Questor and Fer
nando were in close sympathy. One
day when Fernando was saying
Mass the Brother Questor died. At
that moment Fernando, dissolved

The Wonder-Worker of Padua S9

in ecstasy, saw his soul in its flight
through purgatory, ascending
dovelike into the realms of bliss. It
may have been this vision, or it
may have been the glorious sacri
fice of the martyr friars, or the
poverty and devotion of the broth
erhood, that inspired Fernando
with the desire to become one of
them; we know not what was the
primal cause, but we know that
with difficulty he obtained leave of
the prior of Santa Cruz to detach
himself from the Augustinians and
join the followers of St. Francis.

He had won the respect, the love,
the esteem, the admiration of his
associates at Santa Cruz; they
would fain not part with him. One
said to him, half in jest and half in
earnest: "Go thy way; thou wilt
surely become a saint." Fernando
replied: "When they tell thee I
am a saint, then bless thou the
Lord."

In applying for admission to the
Franciscan ranks, Fernando had
said: "With all the ardor of my
soul do I desire to take the holy
habit of your Order; and I am
ready to do so upon one condition

SO The Wonder-Worker of Padua

— that, after clothing me with the
garb of penance, you send me to
the Saracens, so that I also may
deserve to participate in the crown
of your holy martyrs."

Then he put off the white robe of
the Augustinians and donned the
brown garb of the impoverished
Franciscans ; took unto himself the
name of Antonio, the patron of the
hermitage of Oliyares; and, with
out one adieu, joyfully vanished
from the knowledge of all those
who had known and loved him in
the flesh.

V.

ANTHONY SEEKS MARTYRDOM.

NOT all who seek shall find. An
tonio, or Anthony, was permitted
to go to Morocco, where he hoped
to end his days in an effort toward
the conversion of the Moslems.
What dreams were his ! what hopes,
what aspirations ! He was now in
very truth following in the foot
steps of the five friars who were
his first inspiration. He was in a
land whose history was made glori
ous by Tertullian, St. Augustine,
St. Fulgentius; great pontiffs and
learned doctors. The day of its
prosperity was over and gone. Its
flourishing churches had fallen to
decay, and the arrogance of the in
fidel made it unsafe for a Christian
to pace the narrow streets of those
white-walled cities unattended.

Under an ever-cloudless sky, in
the glare of the fierce sunshine and
the heat of the desert dust, An
thony was stricken down with

[31]

32 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

fever. Filippo of Spain, a young
lay-brother who had attached him
self to his person, watched with
Anthony the whole winter. Not
once did the would-be martyr have
the opportunity of exposing him
self to the fury of the African
fanatics. He was utterly prostrat
ed ; his life seemed to be slowly eb
bing away. Evidently his efforts
as a missioner in Morocco were
doomed. The fact could not be kept
a secret; and accordingly Anthony
and Filippo were recalled to Portu
gal by their superiors, after an ab
sence of but four months.

They dutifully embarked, though
their hearts were heavy with
disappointment. The martyr's
palm might wither in the desert ; it
was evidently not reserved for
them. Neither were they destined
to return to Portugal. A white
squall struck their vessel, and it
was cast upon the Sicilian shore.
Anthony and Filippo landed at Ta-
ormina, and at once made their
way to Messina, where there was a
convent of the Friars Minor. Here
for two months the young friars

The Wonder-Worker of Padua S3

reposed; here health and strength
returned to Anthony, and he enter
ed upon a new lease of life. Here,
in the convent garden, he planted
a lemon tree that flourishes to this
hour; for, like the orange tree
planted by St. Dominic at Santa
Sabina on the Aventine, time can
not wither it ; and every succeeding
year bud, blossom and fruit give
testimony of its eternal youth.

About this time the official no
tice of the convocation of the fourth
general chapter of the Franciscan
Order reached Messina. Anthony,
Filippo, and certain of the Sicilian
friars resolved to go to Assisi ; and
it was Anthony's desire to place
himself at the disposal of the holy
founder. In doing the will of St.
Francis he felt that he could make
no error ; and that it was the provi
dence of God alone that had re
called him from Africa, ship
wrecked him upon the Sicilian
coast, and was now about to bring
him into the presence of the sera
phic Father whose child he had be
come.

Having celebrated the Easter

34 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

festivities at Messina, Anthony, ac
companied by Filippo and the Sici
lian frati, set forth on his pilgrim
age to Assisi.

VI.

ANTHONY AND ST. FRANCIS.

THE fourth general chapter of the
Franciscan Order opened at Porti-
uncula on May 30, 1221. This
chapter was a marvelous manifes
tation of the influence exercised by
St. Francis over his followers. It
was an all-powerful influence, and
it was ever increasing; time alone
was necessary to enable it to ex
pand and spread unto the very ends
of the earth.

St. Francis, a year previous, had
resigned his office of Minister-Gen
eral. He had, in a certain sense,
completed his mission. His Order
was well established, was in the
most flourishing condition; re
cruits were constantly approaching
him, and at his feet offering the
labor of their lives. His wish was
law : no one questioned it. His will
was their wisdom, his word was
final. This stupendous organiza
tion, the inspiration and the ac-

[36]

36 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

complishment of one mind, had yet
a price to be paid for it, and a high
price it proved to be : it was no less
than the life of the holy founder.

Hoping to find a little much-
needed rest, St. Francis shifted the
burden of responsibility upon the
shoulders of Peter of Catania ; but
the death of Peter within the year
compelled the enfeebled Francis
once more to assume the reins of
government. He conferred upon
Brother Elias the office of Vicar-
General, and thus Brother Elias
became the mouthpiece of the foun
der. He was literally a mouth
piece; for, owing to his physical
debility, the voice of the Saint could
scarcely be raised above a whisper.
The voice of Elias was indeed as
the voice of Francis, and was lis
tened to by all in unquestioning
silence and obedience.

This is what Anthony beheld as
he stood in the multitude assem
bled at Portiuncula: more than
two thousand friars gathered to
gether from every part of Europe.
They were presided over by Cardi
nal Ranerio Capaccio; but St.
Francis was the magnet that drew

The Wonder-Worker of Padua S7

them thither, the power that sway
ed them as one man, whose burning
and sole desire was to do the will of
their seraphic Father.

As the fruit of his husbandry,
Francis could proudly point to Sil
vester the contemplative ; Giles the
ecstatic; Thomas of Celano, the
noble singer of the Stabat Mater;
John of Piana ; Carpino, and many
another, — all these bearing the
marks of suffering, but all brave
and steadfast warriors for the
faith. Here they were, bowing at
the knee of the patriarch, humbly
waiting his will. And he, pale and
emaciated, sinking under a pros
tration that threatened to termin
ate his life at any moment, the pa
tron of humility and zeal and love,
— when he, in a faint whisper, pro
posed a mission to Germany, eighty
friars sprang to their feet and
shouted with enthusiasm that they
were ready to do his will there as
anywhere and everywhere.

Unnoticed in this great throng,
ravished by the spectacle of the
Saint and his disciples, trembling
with profound emotion, and faint
for the fire of love that was con-

38 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

suming him, stood a youth of six
and twenty, who was one day to be
come the most famous of the fol
lowers of St. Francis. Yet not one
eye was turned upon him in kind
ness or in curiosity; not one word
was spoken to him : he was utterly
unnoticed and ignored.

VII.

ANTHONY DESPISED AND REJECTED.

ST. FRANCIS was wont to read the
hearts and the consciences of his
children, — a gift that must have
aided him often in their wise direc
tion. Were it not evidently pre
destined, it would be surprising
that the Saint did not recognize in
the youthful Anthony one who was
anon to be all in all to him and to
his holy Order. There he was, this
giant in embryo, in the prime of
life, singularly attractive to the
eye, of fascinating manners, ra
diant with divine love, virtuous,
valiant, face to face with the one
who was most to influence him in
life — and he was suffered to pass
by unnoticed.

One thought was now uttermost
in Anthony's mind. He could not
again return to Portugal, — that
would seem like a step backward
and a sign of failure. He must
abide near St. Francis. He felt

[39]

40 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

that he could no longer live happily
and holily apart from the seraphic
one, who so powerfully influenced
all those who were attracted to
him. For this reason he offered
himself to the Provincials and
Guardians of Italy. St. Francis,
hearing of this, highly approved of
the youth's renunciation of his
family, his friends and his coun
try ; and recommended him to those
who were in need of an assistant.

His services were declined by
all; he was not welcome and not
wanted. In a great measure, he
was himself the cause of his unsuc-
cess ; yet the wisdom or the unwis
dom of his motive can no longer be
questioned when we take into con
sideration the natural conse
quences thereof.

With no affectation of humility,
the young friar kept secret all
knowledge of his past. He assumed
an air that bordered on stupidity.
It is hardly surprising that he was
looked upon with disapproval by
the masters of novices, who were
accustomed critically to inspect
such candidates as offered them
selves from time to time at the no-

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 41

vitiate. They did not for a mo
ment suspect that he had talents
and learning of no mean order.

He proffered his services as as
sistant in the kitchen; he volun
teered to sweep the house well ; he
asked nothing more than to be al
lowed to do this for the love of God.
Even here his hopes were for a
season thwarted. His slight figure
had not yet rounded after the
ravages of fever; his face, natur
ally one of the most beautiful
among men, was still drawn and
pale. He did not look equal to the
calls upon the convent drudge, and
was unceremoniously dismissed.
His early biographer, John Peck-
ham, observes: "No Provincial
thought of asking for him." He
was deemed unfit for service of any
kind.

His case was beginning to grow
desperate. What could he hope to
do for the greater glory of God and
the love of his fellowmen? Would
no one take pity on him? Would
no one give him some duty to per
form? In his extremity he drew
Father Gratian, the Provincial of
Bologna, aside and implored his

42 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

aid. It chanced that Father Gra-
tian was in need of a priest to say
Mass at a small hospice, where six
lay-brothers formed the commu
nity. "Are you a priest?" asked
Father Gratian of the unpromising
youth. "I am," replied Anthony.

This seemed like a sad awaken
ing from his dreams of the future.
Not Africa, not martyrdom, ap
parently not Italy, could he claim
for his portion; but Father Gra
tian, who must send a priest to the
lay-brothers in their retreat, found
him sufficient in an extremity ; and
thereupon he was ordered away in
to the mountains to say Mass for
the recluses in a very little house
hidden in a lonely place.

VIII.

ANTHONY THE CONTEMPLATIVE.

FROM the very foundation of the
Order, the Franciscans have pos
sessed two kinds of holy houses.
There were the large convents,
usually erected in cities or their
suburbs, where the friars diligent
ly attended the many calls upon
their time, sympathy and strength ;
and there were small convents, or
hermitages, often hidden away in
the fastnesses of the mountains or
the forest.

One of these minor houses was
situated not far from Forli, upon
the slopes of the Apennines. In
all Tuscany there was not a more
secluded spot. Monte Paolo was an
ideal home for Anthony. Separated
from the outer world by a far-
spreading wood ; walled in by rocky
heights, where only the birds nest
ed and the wild goat climbed; vis
ited by heaven-sent zephyrs ; nour
ished by the uncultivated fruits

[43]

44 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

which nature so lavishly contrib
uted; refreshed by a delicious
spring of crystal purity, — that
sweet solitude seemed indeed to the
ill-judged and disappointed friar
an earthly paradise.

Here Anthony said Mass daily
for the little company of brethren ;
here he begged leave to assist them
in their labors, counting it a priv
ilege so to do. They allotted him
his task, and he cheerfully accept
ed and performed it. They had not
yet discovered that he was a man
far their superior in all respects;
for he became one with them — one
with them in spirit and in truth, —
but he was the holiest of them all.

Within the grounds of the her
mitage at Monte Paolo was secret
ed a deep grotto; and within the
grotto a cell had been hewn out of
the rock, and here Anthony found
his perfect joy. One of the breth
ren had long used this cell as a
storehouse for his tools, but he wil
lingly surrendered it to Anthony
when the latter ventured to ask if
he might have the use of it; and
there the friar passed most of his
time.

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 45

Nearly a year Anthony passed
in the wilderness. His bed was
straw ; his pillow a stone ; his food
and drink a little bread and water.
He mortified himself by fasting,
took the discipline, and gladly en
dured other austerities and volun
tary pains.

During most of that year, so far
as the Rule of the Order and the
spirit of obedience permitted, he
dwelt alone in his hollow rock.
His time he passed in study, med
itation, and ever-ardent prayer. He
translated the Psalms of David, en
riching them with notes and com
mentaries suitable for the use of
preachers. Wittingly or unwitting
ly, he was preparing himself for a
fresh field of labor; and perhaps
nowhere else, outside of the desert
itself, could he have found so suit
able a time and place for just such
preparation.

From a cavern came St. Francis,
St. Bernard, St. Norbert, and St.
Benedict ; it was fitting that he who
was to become a saint as great,
powerful and glorious as these
should come also from a cavern.
The Hermitage of Monte Paolo has

46 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

been by old chroniclers compared to
the cells of the solitaries of the The-
baid. Not a trace of the building
itself remains, and more's the pity !
In 1629 Signer Paganelli erected
an oratory near the grotto conse
crated by the prayers and penances
of Anthony, in gratitude for a
miraculous recovery from illness
obtained through his intercession.
Emmanuel Azevedo, one of An
thony's biographers, upon visiting
the spot, found, about half-way up
the mountain, a limpid spring that
was never known to become turbid,
even in the time of rains, when all
the neighboring springs were thick
with mud. He was assured, not
only by the peasants whose love for
the Saint may have made them too
credulous, but by resident priests
— it was also the testimony of dis
tinguished travellers, — that on
Monte Paolo (better known as St.
Anthony's Mountain), during the
most violent tempests, when the
neighboring heights were swept by
furious winds and lashing rains, a
calm as of a summer twilight pre
vailed; and that persons overtaken

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 47

by the storm hastened to reach the
favored spot, knowing full well
that there they would be safe from
harm — lapped in an atmosphere
as serene as the soul of the Saint.

IX.

\

ANTHONY THE PREACHER.

FOR a little time only was Anthony
permitted to remain in comfortable
and peaceful obscurity. Solitude
and silence he always loved; but,
alas! he was no longer to enjoy
them uninterruptedly. In Ember
week — March 19, 1222, according
to the historian Azzoguidi — the
ceremony of ordination called to
Forli a number of religious, both
Friars Minor and Friar Preachers,
who were to receive Holy Orders.
Father Gratian and Anthony were
also present, but neither in the
least suspected the surprise that
was in store for all.

Father Gratian, who had not
failed to note the edifying fervor
of the young priest, as well as the
gleams of uncommon intelligence
which Anthony was not always
able to disguise, was glad to have
this opportunity of calling the her
mit to Monte Paolo from his vigils

[48]

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 49

to attend the functions at Forli.
Father Gratian had been requested
by the bishop of the province to de
liver to the candidates for ordina
tion the customary address on the
sublimity of the priestly office. This
honor he courteously offered to the
sons of St. Benedict — many of
whom were present ; — but they, be
ing unprepared, refused to speak
on so solemn an occasion. It began
to look as if the ceremonies were
likely to be interrupted.

Suddenly, as if by intuition,
Father Gratian turned to Anthony
and desired him to exhort the can
didates. The simplicity and beau
ty of his language and the grace of
his manner were greatly in his
favor ; but he had never yet spoken
in public, and since he had become
a Friar Minor he had opened no
book save only his breviary and the
Psalms. Therefore he modestly
pleaded his inexperience and his
inability ; he confessed that he was
fitter to serve in the refectory than
to preach to the learned who were
present. He was covered with con
fusion, and heartily wished himself
back again in his grotto at Monte

50 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

Paolo. The superior was inflexible ;
and, rejecting all excuses, he di
rected Anthony to preach out of
obedience, and gave him for a text :
"Christ became for us obedient un
to death, even the death of the
Cross."

The young priest arose, trem
bling with humility ; in a low voice,
the beauty of which had been often
commented upon, he addressed the
Franciscans and Dominicans, who
were filled with curiosity and ex
pectation. As he proceeded, his
voice gathered volume and his
speech fire ; his cheek flushed with
fervor; his body swayed as a reed
in the wind; his wrapped gaze
seemed fixed upon a heaven invis
ible to others, and he spoke as one
divinely inspired. His hour of tri
umph had come at last, unsought
and uninvited.

Is it any wonder that all present
were astonished beyond measure,
and that they looked upon this
maiden effort of the novice as little
short of miraculous? It is true that
his whole life had been a kind of
preparation for the pulpit, but an
involuntary and unconscious one.

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 51

His range of experience had been
large; every emotion of the heart
he had sounded to its depths; in
his solitary hours of abstraction he
had, in spirit, again and again
communed with the martyrs of Mo
rocco and the Canons Regular of
Coimbra. He was storm-tossed in
the Mediterranean ; prostrated
upon a bed of pain in Africa; an
obscure and unobserved pilgrim at
Assisi ; an humble servitor and soli
tary at Monte Paolo.

Now all returned to him like a
flash in brilliant and luminous re
trospection ; and with all else came
knowledge — a revival of knowl
edge, — his knowledge of the Holy
Scriptures and of the consecrated
writings of the Fathers, together
with his own voluminous comments
thereon, and a world of wisdom
withal, — of wisdom not of this
world only.

In a torrent of eloquence that
thrilled and amazed his listeners,
he developed his discourse with the
skill of a logician, the art of an
orator, the charm of one predes
tined to the pulpit; and brought
his last period to a conclusion

52 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

amidst a chorus of enthusiastic ap
probation. On the instant he found
himself conspicuous in a life of
publicity, — the life he had sought
in vain to fly from. Now, in deed
and in very truth, his inner life
was ended: he was henceforth to
be known as Anthony the Preacher.

X.

ANTHONY THE LECTOR.

THE Provincial of Romagna, who
was present when Anthony deliver
ed his first sermon, at once ap
pointed the young apostle a preach
er in his province ; and St. Francis,
hearing of the extraordinary effect
produced by the sermon, not only
confirmed the Provincial's appoint
ment, but greatly enlarged An
thony's sphere of usefulness by giv
ing him leave to preach anywhere
and everywhere, whenever an op
portunity offered. And yet to
preach only was not his mission.

St. Francis desired that An
thony should apply himself to the
study of theology, in order that he
might speak with more confidence
and authority, and likewise be able
to instruct other of his brethren.
Neither St. Francis nor any one
else was aware of the nature and
extent of Anthony's learning; and
he was therefore sent to Vercelli to

[53]

54 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

study theology in the Monastery
of St. Andrew, of the Canons Reg
ular, then under the discipline of
Abbot Thomas, the greatest living
'doctor in all Italy. Thomas was
one of the Canons Regular whom
Mgr. Sessa, Bishop of Vercelli, had
called from the Monastery of St.
Vincent of Paris to that of St.
Andrew of Vercelli, on account of
their many virtues and accomplish
ments.

We may readily imagine the
rapid progress so holy a religious
as Anthony must have made at St.
Andrew's, — he who had already
enjoyed the hidden treasures of
Heaven. A companion in his stud
ies was Adam de Marisco, of So
merset, diocese of Bath, England;
afterward Doctor of the University
of Oxford, and finally Bishop of
Ely, — a man famous for piety and
learning. These young men were
received by Abbot Thomas with the
utmost tenderness, and in them he
found pupils devoted to their stud
ies, of intense application and sur
passing intelligence. Anthony was
still living under the rule of his
Order ; for St. Francis had obtain-

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 55

ed from the Bishop of Vercelli a
convent situated near the ancient
Church of St. Matthew; and here
he dwelt, going at appointed hours
to class at St. Andrew's.

Franciscan historians assure us
that, though Anthony applied him
self most diligently to his studies,
he did not fail to preach the Lenten
sermons in Milan and other places
near at hand; and that on these
occasions his lucid exposition of the
Scriptures astonished and delight
ed his hearers. Even in the class
room he was a marvel. One of his
teachers says that while explaining
to his pupils a work on the "Celes
tial Hierarchy," Anthony spoke
concerning the different orders of
celestial spirits with great preci
sion and wonderful intelligence;
and it seemed to all who heard him
as if he were in the very presence
of that hierarchy.

So rapid was Anthony's progress
in his studies, so comprehensive his
grasp, and so felicitous his treat
ment of every theme under con
sideration, that his classmates with
one accord urgently begged that he
would impart to them something of

56 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

the knowledge that seemed his
birthright. He hesitated ; they per
sistently implored. Anthony knew
that the rule of the Order was
founded upon poverty, humility,
the scorn of all things worldly ; and
he feared that a show of learning
might be considered scandalous
rather than edifying. Holiness
and humility come first of all ; sci
ence and the polite accomplish
ments should follow in their course.
That he might observe to the
letter the holy rule and give no
cause for scandal, Anthony wrote
to St. Francis asking his will in the
matter. Now, there is not the
shadow of a doubt that St. Francis
had the good — the best good — of
the Order at heart; that for this
reason he desired gradually to
work certain reforms; that he
feared a tendency on the part of
his followers to an over-interest in
the affairs of this life to the neglect
of those of the life which is to come.
So he wrote to Anthony. The letter
has fortunately been preserved in
"The Chronicles of the Twenty-
Four Generals." It runs as fol
lows:

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 57

"To his dear Brother Anthony,
Brother Francis sends greeting in
the Lord.

"It is my wish that thou teach
the brethren sacred theology; yet
in such a manner as not to extin
guish in thyself and others the
spirit of prayer and devotion, ac
cording as it is prescribed in the
rule.

"The Lord spare thee !

"BROTHER FRANCIS."

Thus was Anthony chosen by the
patriarch of Assisi to depart into
Bologna and there assume the of
fice of Lector of Theology. Un
happily, no notes of his lectures
then and there delivered have been
preserved to us; but from his
"Commentary on the Psalms" we
can judge of the spirit that per
vaded them. Because of the nature
of this spirit there have been those
of his brotherhood who have as
sured themselves that Anthony
was the author of "The Imitation
of Christ." The authorship of that
inspiring work has long been a
vexed question; but Francis Rich
ard Cruise, M. D., in his ingenious
and exhaustive work on "Thomas

55 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

a Kempis,"* seems to have finally
settled it.

In his lectures Anthony avoided
dry speculation ; he brought youth
ful enthusiasm, coupled with the
purest and loftiest mysticism, to
bear upon the minds and hearts of
his pupils. "To know, to love!"
this was his teaching. To know, so

* London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Co., 1887.

that one may love highly and holi-
ly ; to love, so that one may acquire
the knowledge that is born of ar
dor, devotion, self-sacrifice, single
ness of purpose — the flower and
the fruit of love.

XL

ANTHONY THE FATHER OF MYSTIC
THEOLOGY.

ST. FRANCIS was the inspirer and
St. Bonaventure the most illustri
ous representative of the mystic
school of theology; but Thomas
Gallo, Pope Gregory IX., and St.
Bonaventure himself, have styled
Anthony the father of the school.

Many were the titles conferred
upon the inspired gospeller. Cardi
nal Guy de Montfort, being dan
gerously ill, was miraculously
healed through the intercession of
St. Anthony; and he therefore
made a pilgrimage to the tomb of
the Saint at Padua, and left at that
shrine a splendid reliquary, embel
lished with verses wherein the
Saint is hailed as the "star of
Spain, pearl of poverty, father of
science, model of purity, light of
Italy, doctor of divine truth, and
glory of Padua."

This father of mystic theology

[59]

60 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

and founder of the mystic school
of the Middle Ages was from the
very beginning a wonder-worker.
His preaching was nearly always
confirmed by miracles; the very
sermon itself was in some senses
miraculous. He must have pos
sessed the gift of tongues. While
in Italy he preached in Italian ; yet
all the knowledge he possessed of
that mellifluous tongue he got dur
ing his brief intercourse with the
six illiterate lay-brothers at the
hospice in the solitude of Monte
Paolo. While in France he preach
ed in French, though he had never
studied the language. Perhaps
more remarkable still is the fact
that the simple-minded and the
most ignorant listeners were capa
ble of fully comprehending all he
said; and his voice, though gentle
and sweet, was distinctly heard at
a very extraordinary distance
from the speaker.

In that charming volume, "The
Little Flowers of St. Francis," it is
quaintly recorded : "That marvel
lous vessel of the Holy Ghost, St.
Anthony of Padua, one of the
chosen disciples and companions of

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 61

St. Francis, who was called of St.
Francis his Vicar, once preached in
the Consistory before the Pope and
his Cardinals ; in which Consistory
there were men of divers nations —
namely, Greeks, Latins, French,
Germans, Slavs, and English, and
men speaking other divers tongues.
Fired by the Holy Ghost, so effica
ciously, so devoutly, so subtly, so
sweetly, so clearly, and so plainly,
did Anthony set forth the word of
God, that all they which were
present at the Consistory, of what
soever divers tongues they were,
clearly understood all his words
distinctly, even as he had spoken
in the language of each man among
them. And they all were struck
dumb with amaze; and it seemed
as if that ancient miracle of the
Apostles had been renewed, when
at the time of the Pentecost they
spoke by virtue of the Holy Ghost
in every tongue. And they said one
to another, with admiration and
awe : 'Is not he who preaches come
out of Spain? And how do we
hear in his discourse every man of
us the speech of his own land?'
Likewise the Pope, considering and

62 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

marvelling at the profundity of his
words, said: 'Verily, this man is
the Ark of the Covenant and the
vehicle of the Holy Ghost/ '

Anthony appeared in a most
opportune moment. The Church
was sorely in need of him. St.
Dominic had gone to his reward ;
the labors of St. Francis were at
an end: he could only guide and
encourage by his advice and his
approval ; and, at intervals, instil
new life into his children and con
fer a benediction upon them by ap
pearing, if but for a moment, in
their midst. The honor and the
glory that had been shared by St.
Francis and St. Dominic were his
now ; for to Anthony fell the lot of
continuing the work of these two
illustrious patriarchs.

XII.

ANTHONY THE HAMMER OF
HERETICS. '

WHEN Anthony girded on his
armor and went forth to fight the
good fight, the affairs of Europe,
especially the religious affairs,
were in a sad state. Heresy was
rife. These heretics, known as Par-
torini, Cathari, Waldenses, Albi-
genses, and others almost too nu
merous to mention, were more or
less united in an attempted revival
of Manicheism; for the most part
they taught the eternal existence of
the principal of evil, denied the
responsibility of the rational crea
ture, recognized fatalism, and ad
vocated the right of rebellion.

The secret societies, wherein the
Jew was a rank element, had for
their maxim : Jura, per jura, secre-
tum pandere noli. — "Swear and
forswear thyself, provided thou
keep the secret." Their cry was:
"Down with the Pope ! Death to the
Catholic Church!"

[63]

64 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

That was a sorry time. In his
"History of France/' Michelet
says: "This Judea of France, as
Languedoc has been called, was not
only remarkable, like ancient Ju
dea, for its bituminous pits and
olive groves: it also had its So-
doms and Gomorrahs."

"Italy," says the old Franciscan
chronicle, "was all overturned and
filled with confusion by all the
other nations, who came in to
blooden their barbarous swords in
her body; invited so to do by the
Italians themselves, who called
them in to take part in their intes
tine feuds, and who were all to be
in the event their prey — as it
turned out. And thus very soon
there not only failed among them
those sweet manners which used
to make the Italians like to angels
on earth, and placed them above all
nations in courtesy and charity ; but
there died away also in them that
blessed faith, for the love of which
they had renounced the empire of
the world, placing their necks un
der the most sweet yoke of Christ
and of His Holy Roman Catholic
Church. And as it happens so

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 65

often that people take their cus
toms from the company they keep,
even the Italians drank of that hor
rible chalice of heresy and abomi
nation; and, owing to license of
life, which was then at its highest
point, heretics began to multiply in
that land."

Anthony seemed to have been
singled out by Divine Providence
to combat the prevailing evils of
his time; to have had all his own
sweet dreams, high hopes, and
noble aspirations thwarted ; to have
been kept in the background, a
silent, unknown man, until the mo
ment when he was called to the
front, to battle and to victory ; for
he achieved what perhaps he alone
of all men could have achieved — a
glorious and triumphant victory.
How well he knew the nature and
the requirements of his sacred of
fice ! He said :

"It behooves a preacher to lead
on earth a heavenly life, in keeping
with the truths he is charged to
announce to the people. His con
versation should only be concern
ing holy things ; and his endeavors
must tend to but one end — the sal-

66 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

vation of souls. It is his duty to
raise up the fallen, to console them
that weep, to distribute the treas
ures of divine grace as the clouds
send down their refreshing show
ers. And all this must he do with
perfect humility and absolute dis
interestedness. Prayer must be his
chief delight; and the remem
brance of the bitter Passion of
Christ must ever accompany him,
whether in joy or adversity. If he
acts in this wise, the word of God,
the word of peace and life, of grace
and truth, will descend upon and
flood him with its dazzling light."

He not only preached, he prac
tised what he preached. The seren
ity and beauty of his countenance,
the gentleness and meekness of his
demeanor, were an example — a liv
ing and a lasting sermon unto all.
Having once asked one of the
brethren to go with him while he
preached, the two went forth, and
by and by returned,— Anthony not
having uttered a word during all
the time. The Brother, turning to
him, said: "Why have you not
preached?" And Anthony an
swered: "We have preached: our

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 67

modest look and the gravity of our
behavior are as a sermon unto
those who have followed us with
their eyes."

He was absolutely without fear,
and proved it on many occasions.
Ezzelino of Treviso, having placed
himself at the head of a party of
Ghibellines, made himself master
of Verona, Padua, and indeed most
of the cities in Lombardy. For
forty years this tyrant ruled there,
and his bloody and horrible reign
terrorized the people. He defied
the anathemas of Popes Gregory
IX., Innocent IV., and Alexander
IV. Hearing that the long-suffer
ing Paduans had revolted, he put to
death in one day twelve thousand
of the citizens.

Ezzelino lived at Verona. The
horror of his presence had caused
the Veronese to fly, and the city
was nearly depopulated. Armed
guards, as savage as their master,
patrolled the almost deserted
streets. Anthony, going alone to
Verona, sought audience of this
monster. He entered the palace of
Ezzelino and was conducted to the
audience-chamber, where sat the

68 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

bloodthirsty one upon a throne sur
rounded by his murderous troops.
At a word from Ezzelino these hu
man tigers would have fallen upon
the defenceless Anthony and rent
him limb from limb.

Anthony, undismayed, at once
addressed the tyrant; assuring
him that his plunderings, his sacri
leges, were as a myriad tongues
crying to Heaven for vengeance;
and that his innumerable victims
were living witnesses before God
against him. The ferocious guards
stood ready to spring upon the ac
cuser ; they awaited only the word.
What was their astonishment
when they saw merciless Ezzelino,
pale and trembling, descending
from his throne, and, putting a gir
dle about his neck for a halter,
prostrating himself at the feet of
Anthony, tearfully imploring him
to intercede with God for the par
don of his sins !

When Anthony had departed,
turning to his soldiers, Ezzelino
said: "Be not astonished at my
sudden change. I will tell you the
truth. While Anthony> was re
proaching me I saw in his counte-

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 69

nance a divine splendor ; and I was
so terrified that, if I had dared to
take vengeance, I believe that I
would have been suddenly carried
off by demons and cast into hell."

Some time afterward Ezzelino,
wishing to test Anthony and see if
he were really more than human,
sent him a costly gift. The gift-
bearers were cautioned to press the
treasure upon Anthony; but if he
accepted it, they were to slay him
at once ; if he declined it, they were
to come away and use no violence.
These orders were obeyed. Bowing
before the friar, they said : "Your
faithful son Ezzelino has sent us to
you. He earnestly recommends
himself to your prayers, and be
seeches you to accept this gift we
offer you."

Anthony of course declined it,
and begged that they would return
to their master and say to him that
it was God's wish that he should
restore unto the impoverished
whom he had laid waste, all that he
had cruelly wrested from them;
and that he should make this repa
ration before it was too late. With
shame, they withdrew from the

70 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

presence of the friar; and when
they had reported to Ezzelino all
that had passed between them, he
replied, thoughtfully: "It is well.
This is truly a man of God. Leave
him in peace. I care not what he
says of me."

For a considerable period after
this Ezzelino showed a disposition
to mend his ways: he was less
cruel, less bloodthirsty, a little
more considerate of the rights and
the feelings of his subjects. But
after the death of Anthony he re
lapsed into his former mood, was
in 1259 taken prisoner by the Con
federate princes of Lombardy, and
perished miserably in close confine
ment.

Anthony's success as a preacher
was phenomenal and unparalleled.
That fine old chronicler, John
Peckham, says of it :

"From all parts of the city and
its neighboring villages people
flocked in crowds to hear the ser
mons of the great Franciscan. The
law courts were closed, business
was suspended, labor interrupted.
All life and movement were con
centrated at one point — the ser-

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 71

mpns and instructions of the
mighty wonder-worker. Soon the
churches could not contain the
audiences: he had to preach in
the open air. The plant, dried up by
the heat of the sun, thirsts for the
dew of the early morn ; more lively
and impatient was the desire of the
Paduans for the coming dawn and
the hour for which the conferences
were announced. From midnight
the city was in motion. Knights
and great ladies, preceded by light
ed torches, pressed round the tem
porary pulpit. A motley multitude
covered the plain ; while the bishop,
accompanied by his clergy, pre
sided at the services. The numbers
often reached thirty thousand.

"At the hour fixed Anthony
would appear, in outward demean
or modest and recollective, his
heart burning with love. All eyes
were fixed upon him ; and when he
began to speak, the crowds, hushed
into silence, listened to his words
with an immovable attention. At
the conclusion of the discourse the
enthusiasm of his hearers could not
be contained : it burst forth in sobs,
shouts of joy or applause, according

72 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

to its effect upon each listener. The
crowd would rush upon the Saint.
Each one wished to see him closer,
to kiss the hem of his habit, or his
crucifix; some even went so far
as to cut bits of cloth from his
habit, to keep as relics. A body
guard of young men kept near
him, to prevent his being crushed
by his admirers.

"But the most admirable effects
he achieved were the following:
Enmities were appeased, and con
tending families publicly recon
ciled ; usurers and thieves made res
titution of their ill-gotten goods;
great sinners struck their breasts
in humble repentance; abandoned
women fled from the haunts of vice
and gave themselves up to penance.
The confessionals were besieged;
vice disappeared, virtue revived;
and within the space of a month
the aspect of the ancient city (of
Padua) was transformed."

Having entered the campaign,
which proved a veritable holy war,
within three months he became
known to all as Anthony the Ham
mer of Heretics.

XIII.

ANTHONY'S SERMON ON THE
MONASTIC LIFE.

THE secret of Anthony's marvel
lous success we do not know; one
may have thought it his voice, an
other his manner, and yet another
his beautiful countenance. His
piety, his fervor, his persuasive
eloquence were all important aids ;
yet, perhaps, these alone might not
have swayed the masses as he
swayed them. He was master of
the situation : alone, unrivalled —
in a word, he was altogether irre
sistible.

It is a marvel that we know so
little of one so great. One of the
most conspicuous figures of his
time, he is yet but as a shadow in
the history of that time — -or,
rather, as a bright and shining-
light; illusive, like a Will-o'-the-
wisp; startling and evasive, like
the meteor. The truth is, he was
not of this world.

[73]

74 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

The details of his life are scanty.
Some one in the fourteenth century
cried out, almost in despair : "We
know not half of the beautiful ac
tions of our hero! Most of them
have been allowed to fall into obli
vion, either by reason of the deplor
able carelessness of his first bio
graphers or through lack of au
thentic documents." This is the
more surprising when we find the
little testimony that is preserved to
us aglow with almost boundless en
thusiasm. In the Lucerne manu
script, "St. Antoine," Pere Hilaire
observes :

"His soul was like a fair garden
fertilized by the showers of divine
grace, where bloomed the sweetest
flowers of Heaven, spreading
around their fragrant odor. These
flowers were meekness and humil
ity, poverty and penance, fervor
and zeal, wisdom and prudence.
Beyond all praise were his elo
quence, the gracefulness of his
manners, his nobility of character,
his gentleness and kindness.
Whether in the pulpit or the con
fessional, with the clergy or laity,
he everywhere and at all times

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 75

evinced that spirit of prudence
which gives the golden mean to all
the virtues, and exhibited that ut
ter f orgetfulness of self which won
him the love of all. In a word, he
was indeed the beloved of God and

men.'1

When Anthony went to Limoges,
in 1226, he preached in the ceme
tery of St. Paul's Church, probably
on All Souls' Day. A Benedictine
writer has preserved the beautiful
text, which was taken from the
sixth verse of Psalm xxix : "In the
evening weeping shall have place,
and in the morning gladness." A
brief exposition of the text has
been found among his notes — most
likely a synopsis of this sermon.
"There is a threefold evening and a
threefold morning," he says; "a
threefold weeping and a threefold
gladness. The threefold evening
is, first, the sad evening of the fall
of our first parents in Paradise;
second, the sad evening of the pas
sion and death of our Redeemer;
and third, the sad evening of our
own fast-approaching death. The
threefold morning is, first, the glad
morning of the birth of the Mes-

76 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

sias; second, the glad morning of
the Lord's Resurrection ; and third
the glad morning of our own fu
ture resurrection." Conceive what
an effect this sermon must have
produced as it fell from those in
spired lips upon the ears of the
mourners among the graves !

On the day following his address
in the cemetery, Anthony preached
in a Franciscan abbey, not far
from the Church of St. Paul; and
his notes of this sermon on the mo
nastic life, happily preserved to us,
are so full we gain from them a
pretty clear idea of his treatment
of a theme. On the text, "Who will
give me wings like a dove, and I
will fly and be at rest?" he says:

"Such is the cry of a soul that is
weary of this world and longs for
the solitude and peace of the clois
ter life. It was of the religious life
that Jeremias spoke when he said :
'Leave the cities, and dwell in the
rock, you that dwell in Moab; and
be ye like the dove that maketh her
nest in the mouth of the hole in the
highest place.' 'Leave the cities' —
the sins and vices which dishonor,
the tumult which prevents the soul

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 77

from rising to God, and often even
from thinking of Him. 'Leave the
cities'; for it is written: 'I have
seen iniquity and contradiction in
the city. Day and night shall in
iquity surround it upon its walls;
and in the midst thereof are labor
and injustice. And usury and de
ceits have not departed from its
streets/ There is to be found in
iquity against God and man; con
tradiction against the preacher of
truth ; labor in the ambitious cares
of the world, injustice in its deal
ings, knavery and usury in its busi
ness transactions. 'Ye that dwell in
Moab,' — that is, in the world,
which is seated in pride as the city
of Moab. All is pride in the world,
— pride of the intellect, which re
fuses to humble itself before God;
pride of the will, which refuses to
submit to the will of God ; pride of
the senses, which rebel against rea
son and dominate it. ...

"But to leave the world, to live
remote from the tumult of cities,
to keep one's self unspotted from
their vices, is not sufficient for the
religious soul. Hence the prophet
adds; 'Dwell in the rock.' Now,

78 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

this rock is Jesus Christ. Establish
yourself in Him; let Him be the
constant theme of your thoughts,
the object of your affections. Jacob
reposed upon a stone in the wilder
ness; and while he slept he saw
the heavens opened, and conversed
with angels, receiving a blessing
from the Lord. Thus will it be
with those who place their entire
trust in Jesus Christ. They will be
favored with heavenly visions;
they will live in the company of an
gels; they will be blessed as Jacob
was, 'to the north and south, to the
east and west.' To the north, which
is the divine breath mortifying the
flesh and its concupiscences ; to the
east, which is the light of faith and
the merit of good works; to the
south, which is the full meridian
splendor of wisdom and charity ; to
the west, which is the burial of
the old man with his vices. But as
to the soul which does not repose
upon this rock, it can not expect
to be blessed by the Lord.

" 'And be ye like the dove that
maketh her nest in the mouth of
the hole in the highest place/ If
Jesus Christ is the rock, the hole of

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 79

the rock, in which the religious soul
is to seek shelter and take up her
abode, is the wound in the side of
Jesus Christ. This is the safe har
bor of refuge to which the Divine
Spouse calls the religious soul when
He speaks to her in the words of
the Canticle: 'Arise, my love, my
beautiful one, and come ! . . . My
dove in the clif ts of the rock, in the
hollow places of the wall/ The Di
vine Spouse speaks of the number
less clifts of the rock, but He also
speaks of the deep hollow. There
were indeed in His Body number
less wounds and one deep wound in
His side; this leads to His Heart,
and it is hither He calls the soul
He has espoused. To her He ex
tends His arms; to her He opens
wide His sacred side and Divine
Heart, that she may come and hide
therein.

"By retiring into the clifts of
the rock, the dove is safe from the
pursuit of the birds of prey; and
at the same time she prepares for
herself a quiet refuge, where she
may calmly repose and coo in peace.
So the religious soul finds in the
Heart of Jesus a secure refuge

80 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

against the wiles and attacks of
Satan, and a delightful retreat.
But we must not rest merely at the
entrance to the hole in the rock:
we must penetrate its depths. At
the mouth of the deep hollow — at
the mouth of the wound in His
side — we shall indeed find the
Precious Blood which has redeemed
us. This Blood pleads for us and
demands mercy for us. But the
religious soul must not stay at the
entrance. When she has heard and
understood the voice of the Divine
Blood, she must hasten to the very
source from which it springs — into
the very innermost sanctuary of
the Heart of Jesus. There she will
find light, peace, and ineffable
consolations.

" 'And be ye like the dove that
maketh her nest in the deep hollow
of the rock.' The dove builds her
nest with little pieces of straw she
gathers up here and there. How are
we to build up an abode in the
Heart of Jesus? This Divine Sav
iour, who so mercifully gives us the
place wherein we are to make our
abode, furnishes us at the same
time with the materials wherewith

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 81

to construct it. 0 religious soul,
dove beloved of Christ, behold those
little pieces of straw which the
world tramples under its feet!
They are the virtues practised by
thy Saviour and thy Spouse, of
which He Himself has set thee an
example - - humility, meekness,
poverty, penance, patience, and
mortification. The world despises
them as useless pieces of straw;
nevertheless, they will be for thee
the material wherewith to construct
thy dwelling-place forever in the
profound hollow of the rock — in
the Heart of Jesus."

Thus Anthony preached to thou
sands and tens of thousands. And
they followed him when he had
finished speaking; for it seemed
that they could never have enough
of him. It was his custom to pref
ace his sermons with this prayer,
which he himself composed :

"0 Light of the world, Infinite
God, Father of eternity, Giver of
wisdom and knowledge, and inef
fable Dispenser of every spiritual
grace; who knowest all things be
fore they are made, who makes t the
darkness and the light: put forth

82 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

Thy hand and touch my mouth, and
make it as a sharp sword to utter
eloquently Thy words. Make my
tongue, 0 Lord ! as a chosen arrow,
to declare faithfully Thy wonders.
Put Thy spirit, 0 Lord! in my
heart, that I may perceive; in my
soul, that I may retain ; and in my
conscience, that I may meditate. Do
Thou lovingly, holily, mercifully,
clemently and gently inspire me
with Thy grace. Do Thou teach,
guide and strengthen the comings
in and goings out of my senses and
my thoughts. And let Thy dis
cipline instruct me even to the end,
and the counsel of the Most High
help me, through Thine infinite
wisdom and mercy. Amen."

So shone this light, with a glow
as of fire from heaven, in the so-
called Dark Ages.

XIV.

ANTHONY THE WONDER-WORKER.

THAT miracles have occurred, and
are occurring even in our own day,
there is no shadow of doubt. What
is a miracle? According to Worces
ter a miracle is "an effect of which
the antecedent can not be referred
to any secondary cause; an event
or occurrence which can not be ex
plained by any known law of na
ture; a deviation from the estab
lished law of nature; something
not only superhuman, but preter
natural; a prodigy, a wonder, a
marvel."

Thousands of eye-witnesses bore
testimony in their day to the won
ders worked by Anthony in France
and Italy. It would seem that his
fame must have preceded him, and
that wherever he went his ap
proach must have been heralded
and his appearance hailed with en
thusiasm by expectant and ani
mated throngs. This was not the

[83]

84 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

case. Obedient to the voice of his
superiors, he went wheresoever he
was bidden ; went alone and unan
nounced; a stranger in a strange
land, unrecognized of any until he
had lifted that voice whose persua
sive eloquence no one was long
able to withstand. Then came his
triumph, complete and overwhelm
ing. Triumph followed upon tri
umph, until at last the land rang
with his praises. On every hand
he gave abundant proof of the di
vine power which he was called
upon to exercise. Following in the
footsteps of his Blessed Master, he
healed the sick, raised the dead,
and wakened the living to life ever
lasting.

Preaching once upon a time in
the pulpit of the Church of St. Eu-
sebius in Vicelli — a small Italian
city, then an independent republic,
like many another city of that day,
— vast crowds pressed about him.
Suddenly a great commotion arose.
With difficulty a grief-stricken
family bore toward him the body
of one of their number, cut down
in the prime of life. A great wail
went up from the people. Anthony

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 85

paused in his discourse, profoundly
moved. Recollecting himself, he ex
tended his hand toward the body
and cried : "In the name of Christ
I say unto you, young man, arise !"
And immediately the youth arose
from the dead, full of joy, restored
to health and to the arms of those
who had bewailed him.

Great is the number and the
variety of the wonders worked by
Anthony. Here are a few of them
taken at random from the pages
of his several chroniclers.

He was preaching in the cathe
dral at Montpellier, in the presence
of the clergy and a vast multitude.
It was Easter Sunday. In the midst
of his discourse he suddenly re
membered that he had been ap
pointed to sing at Solemn High
Mass in the choir of a neighboring
convent chapel. He had forgotten
this ; he had even forgotten to find
a substitute, and the hour of the
Mass was at hand. This seemed to
him an act of disobedience ; and, in
his distress, he drew his cowl over
his face, sank back in the pulpit
and remained silent for a long
time. The people, in amazement,

86 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

watched and waited. At the mo
ment when he ceased speaking in
the cathedral, though all the while
visible to the congregation, he ap
peared in the convent choir among
his brethren and sang his office. At
the close of the service he recovered
himself in the pulpit of the cathe
dral, and, as his chronicler says,
finished his sermon "with incom
parable eloquence."

Anthony had completed his
"Commentary on the Psalms," the
fruit of long vigilance and pro
found meditation. A novice, weary
of the religious life and its cease
less austerities, resolved to return
to the world, and, coveting An
thony's precious manuscript, he
captured it and fled. The young
rascal could have had no sense of
humor, or he would hardly have
turned his back upon the cloister
and sought the mixed society of the
world, the flesh and the devil with
a stolen copy of a "Commentary on
the Psalms" as his companion.
Probably he hoped to profit by it in
a worldly way; but in this he was
strangely thwarted. Upon discov
ering his loss, Anthony had, as

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 87

ever, recourse to prayer. At that
very moment the fleeing youth was
confronted by a monstrous crea
ture, that ordered him to return at
once to the abbey and restore the
"Commentary" to its author. This
he was now only too glad to do. And
the Saint, rejoiced at the recovery
of his manuscript, as well as of the
soul that was in peril, received the
novice with every mark of affec
tion. Nor was his loving kindness
111 bestowed ; for the lad became one
of the most favored of the faithful.

As St. Francis hushed the carol
ling birds in the Venetian lagoon,
saying, "Cease your singing a little
while until we have rendered to
God our homage of praise," so An
thony rebuked the clamoring frogs
in a noisy pool at the Convent of
Montpellier, and they thereafter
observed a respectable silence at
the hours of prayer.

At Puy-en-Velay he converted a
notary of dissolute habits and vio
lent temper. When they met in the
streets Anthony would bow to the
notary, and the latter would fly
into a rage, believing that he was
in mockery. Still Anthony saluted

88 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

him reverently and more rever
ently ; whereupon the notary cried,
in a fury: "What does this mean?
But for fear of the anger of
God I would run you through
with my sword." Then Anthony
replied, with perfect composure:
"0 my brother! you do not know
the honor in store for you. I envy
your happiness. I longed for the
martyr's palm : the Lord denied it
to me, but He has revealed to me
that this grace is reserved for you.
When that blessed hour arrives, be
mindful, I beseech you, of him who
foretold it to you." And it came to
pass even as it had been predicted.

To a lady of rank who recom
mended herself to his prayers, An
thony said: "Be of good heart, my
daughter, and rejoice ; for the Lord
will give you a son who, as a Friar
Minor and a martyr, will shed lus
tre upon the Church." This predic
tion was likewise fulfilled.

Many he delivered from sore
temptations, and they were never
again persecuted. To a poor sin
ner, overwhelmed with sorrow,
who could find no voice with which
to confess himself, Anthony said:

"Go write down your sins, and
bring me the parchment." The
penitent did as he was bidden, re
turning with a tear-stained scroll.
As he read out his sins one after
the other, each disappeared from
the parchment ; and, having reach
ed the last of these, lo ! the scroll
was spotless.

At St. Junien, Anthony, who was
about to address the public, pre
dicted that the platform which had
been erected for his use would
collapse, but that no one would be
injured. The fact was speedily
verified.

One day, preaching to a great
multitude in a large square in the
city of Limoges, France, a violent
storm gathered and filled the peo
ple with terror. They began to dis
perse in haste, when Anthony said :
"Fear not: the storm will pass you
by." So they remained; and, though
the city was deluged, not a drop of
rain fell in the square where An
thony was preaching.

At Brive the Saint established a
little hermitage similar to the one
at Monte Paolo. Postulants joined
him, seeking solitude and poverty.

90 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

On one occasion, when they were
in distress, a much-needed alms
was sent them by a lady to whom
they had reluctantly applied for
aid. The lady's servant carried the
gift to them through a severe
storm; yet going and coming the
servant walked dry-shod, and not
one drop of water from the pouring
clouds fell upon her.

One evening his companions at
the hospice saw a band of marau
ders despoiling the field of one of
the benefactors of the little com
munity, and they hastened to com
plain to Anthony. "Fear not," said
he. "Tis but an artifice of the Evil
One to distract you." On the mor
row they found that the field had
been untouched.

The Cathari of Rimini invited
the Saint to a feast of poisons. His
astounding success in bringing
wanderers back to the fold filled
them with hatred of him. He knew
at once that a snare had been laid
for him by the Cathari, and de
nounced them openly; thereupon
they said to him : "Either you be
lieve the words of the Gospel or you
do not. If you believe them, why

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 91

hesitate to eat? Is it not written,
'In My name they shall cast out
devils; they shall handle serpents;
and if they shall drink any deadly
thing, it shall not hurt them'? If
you do not believe the Gospel to be
true, why do you preach it? Take,
therefore, and eat. If you go un
hurt, we swear to embrace the
Catholic faith." Blessing the
viands, the servant of God ate and
was unharmed; and all those who
beheld the miracle returned into
the fold.

Paralysis and epilepsy he cured
with the Sign of the Cross.

At Gemona, near Udine, where
he was erecting a small convent on
the model of the Portiuncula, he
one day hailed a peasant who was
passing with an ox team, and
begged that a load of bricks might
be brought him. The peasant, not
knowing who addressed him, and
not caring to be pressed into An
thony's service, said: "I can not
help you, for I am carrying a
corpse." The truth is, the peas
ant's son lay sleeping in the bottom
of the cart. When the peasant, a
little later, attempted to waken the

92 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

boy so as to tell him how he had
fooled the friar, he found that his
son was dead. Then he ran to An
thony and implored him to restore
the life of the boy; and Anthony
making the Sign of the Cross over
the body, the youth arose and
blessed him.

Often, under the influence of
his exhortations, penitents were
moved to tears and convulsive sobs.
To such he would say — to quote
from his notes: "Poor sinner, why
despair of thy salvation, since all
here speaks of mercy and of love?
Behold the two advocates who
plead thy cause before the tribunal
of Divine Justice : a Mother and a
Redeemer, — Mary, who presents to
her Son her heart transfixed with
the sword of sorrow; Jesus, who
presents to His Father the wounds
in His feet and hands, and His
Heart pierced by the soldier's
lance. Take courage ; with such a
mediator, with such an intercessor,
Divine Mercy can not reject thee."

Who could resist this appeal, or
fail to find strength and consola
tion in it?

XV.

ANTHONY PREACHES TO THE
FISHES.

AGAIN I return to that garden
of delights, "The Little Flowers of
St. Francis." So delicate, so dainty,
so fragrant are these flowers one
can not pass them by unnoticed.
The lips of the devout fashioned
them, and for two centuries they
blossomed wherever the lovers of
the Saint were gathered together;
then they were carefully culled and
brought from near and far; and a
bouquet was made of them, and it
was called "The Little Flowers of
St. Francis."

Therein we find that "our
Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, desiring to set forth the
great sanctity of His most faithful
servant, St. Anthony, how devout a
thing it was to hear his preaching
and his holy doctrines, He reproved
the folly of heretics and infidels
through unreasoning beasts — not
ably the fishes, — as of old in -the

[93]

94 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

Bible He chid the ignorance of Ba
laam through the mouth of the ass.
Hence St. Anthony being at Rimi
ni, where there was a great multi
tude of heretics, desiring to bring
them back to the light of the true
faith and to the ways of virtue, for
many days did preach and set forth
to them the faith of Christ and of
the Holy Scriptures. But they, not
only consenting not to his holy
words, but even, like hardened and
obstinate sinners, refusing to
hearken unto him, the Saint one
day, by divine inspiration, went
forth to the banks of the river close
beside the sea; and, standing thus
upon the shore betwixt sea and
stream, he began to speak in the
guise of a sermon in the name of
God unto the fishes. 'Hear the
word of God, ye fishes of the sea
and of the stream, since heretics
and infidels are loath to listen to it.'
"And, having uttered these
words, suddenly there came toward
him so great a multitude of fishes
— great, small, and middle-sized —
as had never been seen in that sea
or in that stream, or of the people
round about; and all held their

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 95

heads up out of the water, and all
turned attentively toward the face
of Anthony. And the greatest
peace and meekness and order pre
vailed; insomuch that next the
shore stood the lesser fish, and
after them the middle fish, and still
after them where the water was
deepest, stood the larger fish.

"The fish being thus ranged in
order, St. Anthony began solemnly
to preach, speaking thus: 'My
brothers the fish, you are greatly
bounden, so far as in you lies, to
thank your Creator that He hath
given you so noble an element for
your habitation; so that at your
pleasure you have fresh waters and
salt; and He hath given you many
shelters against storm. He hath
also given you a clear and lucid
element, and food by which you
may live. God, your courteous and
benign Creator, when He created
you, commanded you to grow and
multiply; and He gave you His
blessing. Then when the great flood
swallowed up the world, and all
the other animals were destroyed,
God preserved you only without
injury or harm. Almost hath He

96 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

given you wings, that you may
roam whithersoever it pleases you.
To you was it granted, by God's
command, to preserve the prophet
Jonah, and after the third day to
cast him up upon the land safe and
sound. You offered tribute to our
Lord Jesus Christ, which He, poor
and lowly, had not wherewithal to
pay. You were the food of the
everlasting King Christ Jesus be
fore the Resurrection, and again
after it, by a strange mystery ; for
which things greatly are you
bounden to praise and bless God,
which hath given you such great
and so many benefits, more than to
any other creatures/

"Upon these and other familiar
words and the teachings of St.
Anthony, the fishes began to open
their mouths and to bow their
heads ; and by these and other signs
of reverence, according as it was
possible to them, they praised God.
Then St. Anthony, seeing such rev
erence in the fishes toward God
their Creator, rejoiced in spirit,
cried aloud and said: 'Blessed be
the eternal God, since fishes of the
water honor Him far more than

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 97

•

heretic men, and the unreasoning
beasts more readily hearken to His
word than faithless men/ And as
St. Anthony continued his preach
ing, the multitude of fishes was in
creased yet more, and none depart
ed from the place which he had
filled.

"Upon this miracle the people of
the town began to hasten forth,
and among them were also the
aforesaid heretics; the which, see
ing so manifest and marvellous a
miracle, felt their hearts sorely
pricked, and they fell with one ac
cord at St. Anthony's feet to hear
his word. Then St. Anthony began
to preach of the Catholic faith ; and
so nobly did he discourse that he
converted all those heretics and
turned them to the true faith of
Christ; and all the faithful were
comforted with great joy, and were
confirmed in their faith. And this
done, St. Anthony dismissed the
fishes with the blessing of God ; and
they all departed with marvellous
signs of rejoicing, and likewise the
people. And then St. Anthony
stayed in Rimini for many days,
preaching and reaping a spiritual
harvest of souls."

XVI.
ANTHONY AND THE ISRAELITE.

THERE dwelt at Bourges, the capi
tal of Berry, in France, an Israelite
who was of all Israelites the most
bitter foe of the Catholic Church.
He was the leader of the anti-
Christian movement, an earnest
worker in opposition to every doc
trine that Anthony taught. Guil-
lard the Jew was not an ignorant
and blind bigot: he was a man of
intelligence, an honest doubter.
Often he had listened to the preach
ing of Anthony, yet he was not con
vinced. Shall we not say that it
was his misfortune rather than his
fault that he remained without the
fold and persistently assumed an
attitude of antagonism?

The dogma of the real presence
of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacra
ment was naturally his chief
stumbling-block. Much he could
accept and much consider in a calm
spirit of philosophical inquiry; but
the Eucharist, transubstantiation

[98]

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 99

— the perpetual miracle — was in
his estimation past belief. For this
miracle he demanded miraculous
proof.

"The Turk does not question the
word of Mohammed," observed An
thony to this fellow of Didimus the
Doubter; "the philosopher accepts
the philosophy of Aristotle; but
you, who pride yourself upon being
a worthy Israelite, will not accept
the testimony of the Son of God."
— "I must see for myself, with
these very eyes, before I can be
lieve," replied the doubting
Thomas. There are many who,
like him, must put their finger in
the wounds before they are con
vinced of the living truth.

One day Guillard said to An
thony: "Brother Anthony, if by
some tangible, outward sign you
can confirm the truth you have
demonstrated by reasoning, I will
abjure my ancient creed and em
brace yours. Do you consent?" In
order to save a soul one may make
great concessions; nor was it be
neath the dignity of Anthony to
offer visible proof to an anxious
and inquiring eye. "I consent,"

100 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

said he. — "I have a mule/' added
the Jew: "I will keep him for
three days under lock and key, and
in all that time feed him nothing.
At the end of the third day I will
bring him to the largest public
square in the city ; and there, in the
presence of all the assembled peo
ple, I will offer him a feed of oats.
You, on the other hand, will come
carrying the Host, which, as you
believe, is the true body of the Son
of God. If the mule refuses the
proffered food in order to prostrate
himself before the monstrance, I
will become a Catholic, and no
longer question the truth of the
doctrine taught by the Catholic
Church."

Here was a direct challenge, and
it was not declined. Anthony felt
that his victory was assured. The
reward of that victory was an im
mortal soul. For three days the
young apostle devoted himself to
fasting and prayer. Not for one
moment did he lose faith in the
success of the miracle he was about
to work, but he dared not attempt
it without solemn preparation.
Meanwhile Guillard and his com-

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 101

panions were so sure of Anthony's
total defeat and discomfiture that
there was much merriment at the
wonder-worker's expense; and the
interest in the approaching test
increased from hour to hour.

The eventful day arrived. Guil-
lard and his friends trooped into
the public square with smiles and
laughter, so confident were they
that the famishing mule would in
stantly abandon himself to his oats.
The immense throngs who had
gathered to witness the impending
spectacle were consumed with curi
osity. As Anthony slowly ap
proached, bearing reverently the
Sacred Host, his eyes cast down,
his air devotional, a great hush fell
upon the multitude. He was fol
lowed by a large crowd of the faith
ful, singing canticles and whisper
ing prayers.

The mule was then led forward,
and the oats laid temptingly before
him. At that moment Anthony
drew near, bearing the mon
strance. Turning toward the dumb
brute, he exclaimed : "In the name
of thy Creator, whose body I,
though unworthy, hold in my

102 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

hands, I enjoin and command thee,
0 being deprived of reason! to
come hither instantly and prostrate
thyself before thy God; so that
by this sign unbelievers may know
that all creation is subject to the
Lamb who is daily immolated upon
our altars." In the same moment
Guillard and his friends presented
the oats to the famished beast.
Without taking the smallest notice
of the food, the mule, turning
away, walked to the feet of An
thony, and, bending his knees,
knelt before the Blessed Sacrament
and remained there in an attitude
of adoration.

Great was the enthusiasm
among the faithful. The heretics
fled away in fright and hid them
selves for shame; they dared not
face the one who had proved that
prayer is more powerful than the
laws of nature. Many were so
moved by the wondrous spectacle
that, though they had long wan
dered from the path of duty, they
returned into the fold. Guillard
likewise sought admission, for he
could no longer doubt; and with
him came his household. He pub-

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 10S

licly attested his faith, and in
gratitude erected a church upon
the spot where the miracle had
taken place; and that monument
endures to this hour. As late as
1850 a block of marble, carved to
represent a mule in the attitude
of devotion, was discovered in the
wall of the fagade of the church
built by Guillard and consecrated
in 1231 by Archbishop Simon de
Sully.

Pierre Rosset, a Doctor of the
University of Paris and a poet of
the fifteenth century ; Wadding, in
his "Annals of the Friars Minor;"
and Benedict Mazzara, in his
"Franciscan Legends," bear wit
ness to the authenticity of this me
morial of a miracle. Toulouse and
Rimini claim a like honor with
Bourges, and there are those who
have believed that the miracle was
repeated. The evidence is cloudy
and conflicting in these cases, but
there is no shadow of doubt that
Anthony the wonder-worker work
ed that wonder in the ancient city
of Bourges; and that Guillard the
Israelite than and there built the
Church of St. Peter in honor of his
glorious conversion.

XVII.

ANTHONY AND THE CHRIST-CHILD.

LET us not be disconcerted if we
find several cities contending for
the honor to which one only is en
titled. Since Homer's death it has
been the fate of the distinguished
poet to be claimed by many and
various peoples as father, brother,
son; though while living in ob
scurity the devoted soul was suffer
ed to endure neglect. It is not sur
prising that the miracles of An
thony have not always been defi
nitely located. Some of them may
have been repeated in two or more
localities. Tradition is more or less
elastic; it sometimes grows with
what it feeds on. What is of ut
most importance is the proof of a
miracle; it matters less where it
actually took place.

In Anthony we see embodied the
beauty of holiness. There is one
who has borne witness to the truth

[104]

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 105

of this, for he was an eye-witness.
The blessed privilege he enjoyed
should have immortalized him, and
yet the authorities are not united
as to his identity.

Anthony founded the monastery
of Arcella Vecchia, without the
walls, about a mile distant from
Padua. There he loved to dwell;
but as his duties called him into the
city daily, and when preaching or
hearing confessions in the evening
he was often detained until the city
gates were closed, he found it
necessary to seek a lodging which
he could occupy at his leisure. This
he found, as Azevedo informs us,
at the house of Tiso, or Tisone, one
of the ancient family of counts of
Camposampiero, famous in the
records of their time.

That a miracle was performed
somewhere no chronicler doubts;
but Azevedo seems to have had
insufficient proof of the grounds
for his statement that it took place
in Padua. Wadding, on the other
hand, does not attempt to locate it ;
but Father Bonaventure de St.
Am able, a Carmelite of the seven
teenth century, on the authority of

106 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

ancient documents existing in his
time, names without hesitation
Chateauneuf — the modern Cha-
teauneuf-la-Foret — as the hallow
ed spot. The legend is perhaps the
best known in the life of the Saint,
as it is certainly the most beauti
ful ; and it has been a favorite sub
ject for the art of the best masters
during the last eight hundred
years.

Accepting the hospitality of the
Lord of Chateauneuf, who, accord
ing to the " Annals de Limousin,"
dearly loved St. Anthony and his
holy Order, he retired to his cham
ber and began the prayerful vigil
that usually extended far into the
night. His host, who was in an ad
joining apartment, was startled by
a light as of a conflagration that
poured from under the door of An
thony's room. Hastening to the
door, but fearing to enter lest he
should disturb his guest, he listen
ed for a few moments. Hearing
voices, he became agitated; and,
riveting his eye at a crevice, he be
held a vision that filled him with
awe and wonder.

Anthony knelt at a table where

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 107

a large volume lay open ; upon the
volume, or above it, stood a child
of such surpassing loveliness that
the gazer's heart leaped within
him, and his lips would have cried
out for joy but that some mysteri
ous influence enjoined silence upon
him. The body of the infant was
effulgent : a soft glow was diffused
on every side. The lustre of that
countenance was ineffable. The
radiant being seemingly reposed
upon the air ; and, from a soft veil
of vapor that emitted a celestial
fragrance, he leaned fondly upon
the bosom of the friar, and with
hands of exquisite loveliness deli
cately caressed him. Soft music,
mingled with voices of heavenly
tenderness and the flutter of in
visible wings, betokened the pres
ence of angelic visitors.

The child, who was the Christ-
Child, whispered in the ear of An
thony; and, as the Saint turned to
the door, the master of Chateau-
neuf knew that his presence was
detected. So when Anthony met
him on the morrow these words
passed between them; the Limou
sin chronicler records them in their

108 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

brevity and simplicity: "Father,
what did Our Lord say to you?" —
"He revealed to me that your house
will flourish and enjoy great pros
perity so long as it remains faith
ful to Mother Church; but that it
will be overwhelmed with misfor
tune and become extinct when it
goes over to heresy."

In the seventeenth century the
then Lord of Chateauneuf espoused
the cause of the Calvinists, and in
the fall of that house the prophecy
was fulfilled. As for Anthony, one
ever associates him with the
Christ-Child who nestles in his
arms. From the holy visitations of
the Divine Infant he gathered in
spiration, and it was he who said :
"The Sacred Heart is a fountain of
supernatural life; a golden altar
whereon is burning, night and day
forever, incense that ascends in
clouds of fragrance toward the
skies and envelops and embalms
the earth."

XVIII.

S. A. G.

SOME folk think the letters are
mystical. Though their signifi
cance is known to many, there are
very many more to whom they con
vey no meaning. You will usually
find them, if they are visible, on the
addressed side of an envelope,
down in the lower left-hand cor
ner. I say when they are visible;
for some who use them seem afraid
to use them openly, and so the let
ters are written in the upper right-
hand corner of the envelope, where
the postage-stamp covers them ; or
they are inscribed on the underside
of the lapel of the envelope, and
hidden away.

It is a pretty cult, a sweet devo
tion, a symbol of faith and trust;
and its votaries, who were shy
enough at first — and perhaps with
reason, for bigotry was rampant
but a few years ago, — now grow
bolder ; and their numbers multiply

[109]

110 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

daily, hourly, and are scattered
even unto the four quarters of the
globe.

S. A. G. ! What do these letters
stand for? The question has been
asked me a thousand times. Per
haps the letters, down in their cozy
corner, were passed unnoticed for
a time ; then it was discovered that
they were not the initials of the
writer ; interest was now excited,
and at last curiosity refused to be
satisfied until the mystery was
solved.

S. A. G. ! St. Anthony guide ; or,
St. Anthony guard. But why St.
Anthony guide? It is the peculiar
privilege of the Saint to guard and
guide all travellers, and especially
all toilers of the sea and all who
are exposed to the peril of wind
and wave. He is the rescuer and
restorer of the "lost, strayed, or
stolen." Not a day passes, not an
hour, but voices of the distressed
are crying to him for help in a
search after something that is mis
laid. And they do not cry in vain.
There is testimony enough in proof
of this to fill a library.

Is it a foolish office to heed these

The Wonder- Worker of Padua 111

sometimes trivial requests? Every
answer is an answer to prayer, and
the answer to prayer is the bul
wark of our faith. Thus the won
der-worker works a perpetual won
der ; it is an incessant miracle, that
brings joy to myriads of grateful
hearts.

Every year the number of letters
placed under the guidance of dear
St. Anthony increases. The writers
of letters who use the initials S.
A. G. seem to have formed an in
voluntary brotherhood; they are
unconscious members of another
order of St. Francis, who thus pro
claim, even unto the ends of the
earth, their absolute faith in St.
Anthony and his readiness to aid
them. That he has a special inter
est in the transportation of written
messages is twice proved in his own
case. The facts read like fairy
tales — but, then, let us remember
his life was one long fairy tale
filled full of wonders.

Anthony, on one occasion being
greatly in need of rest, wished to
retire for a little season to a soli
tude about ten miles from Padua,
known as Campo San Pietro. With

112 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

this end in view, he wrote to his
minister provincial begging that he
might be permitted to repair
thither. The letter written he went
to the superior of the monastery
and asked that some trusty messen
ger be charged with the delivery of
his letter, and his request was at
once granted. Returning to his cell
to procure the letter and deliver it
to the messenger, he found it had
disappeared. He searched for it in
vain. Unable to find it, he took it
as a sign that his duty lay where he
was, and he dismissed all thoughts
of visiting Campo San Pietro.
Shortly afterward, turning again
to his desk where he had left the
letter, he found the answer lying
there, — the answer written by his
minister provincial, and freely
granting his request. Was it a
celestial messenger that favored
him? It is now Anthony's turn to
favor one of his devoted clients.

In 1729 Antonio Dante, a Span
ish merchant, left Spain for South
America and established his busi
ness in Lima, Peru. His wife, who
remained in Spain, wrote to him
repeatedly without receiving a re-

The Wonder-Worker of Padua US

ply. In great anxiety she went one
day to the Church of St. Francis,
at Oviedo ; here was a large statue
of St. Anthony. She had with her
a letter addressed to her absent
husband. In all simplicity and with
perfect confidence, she placed that
letter in the hands of the statue and
said: "St. Anthony, I pray thee
let this letter reach him, and obtain
for me a speedy reply."

The next day she returned to
renew her prayer. Seeing a letter
still in his hands, and believing it
to be the one she had placed there,
the poor soul began to weep; and,
crying aloud, she said: "St. An
thony, why have you kept the letter
which I wrote to my husband,
instead of sending it to him, as I
asked you?" Her boisterous grief
attracted the attention of the
Brother sacristan, who came to ask
the cause of it. When he had heard
her story he said: "I have in vain
tried to take that letter from the
hand of St. Anthony. See if he will
give it to you. She took the letter
from the hand of the image with
out difficulty, and at the same mo
ment there fell from the sleeve of

114 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

the statue three hundred golden
coins. The amazed sacristan has
tened into the adjoining monastery,
called the friars into the church,
where the bewildered woman was
still waiting ; and in their presence,
before the high altar, the letter was
opened and read. It ran as fol
lows:

LIMA, July 23, 1729.
MY DEAR WIFE : — For some time
I have been expecting a letter from
you, and been in great trouble at
not hearing from you. At last
your letter has come, and given me
joy. It was a Father of the Order
of St. Francis who brought it to
me. You complain that I have left
your letters unanswered. I assure
you that when I received none I
believed you to be dead. So you
may imagine my happiness at the
arrival of your last one. I answer
by the same religious, and send you
three hundred golden crowns,
which will suffice for your support
until my approaching return. In
the hope of soon being with you, I
pray God for you, commend myself
to my dear patron St. Anthony,
and ardently desire that you may

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 115

continue to send me tidings of
yourself.

Your most affectionate,

ANTONIO DANTE.
The original letter, written in
Spanish, is preserved at Oviedo.

XIX.

ANTHONY AT PADUA.

ANTHONY had long been a wan
derer. From Portugal he travelled
into Spain, Morocco, Sicily. He
journeyed from Messina to Assisi ;
from Assisi to Monte Paolo, Tou
louse, Puy-en-Valey, .Limoges,
Rome, Rimini, Venice, Ferrara,
Mantua, and elsewhere. But of all
the cities he visited and of all the
peoples he ministered unto, his
name was destined to become as
sociated with Padua and the Padu-
ans.

The Padua of to-day is not the
Padua of old: it is naturally more
or less modernized; yet, happily,
a delightful flavor of antiquity still
abides there, and is perceptible in
all its nooks and corners. When
I first visited Padua I was a pil
grim and a stranger. One may be
ever a pilgrim in that hallowed
land, but never twice a stranger.
Alighting at the station, I wander-
die]

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 117

ed through the streets, suffering
myself to be piloted — by my Good
Angel it may have been — till I
came to the inn with the sign of the
Three White Crosses, and I abode
there. The fifty thousand people
of Padua left me to myself, and I
went my way as if I were invisible
to any. This shrine seems to be the
least commercial of them all, and
yet it is one of the most famous
and the most popular.

How soon one does Padua as a
tourist : devouring it, as it were ;
bolting it as the hungry sight-seer
bolts everything visible ! Of course
there is a memory and an indiges
tion after all is over, and the
fagged tourist packs himself home
and sits down to think. One does
it in a day — so much of Padua as
is in the guidebook. There is a
memory of lovely churches and the
tombs of saints, and old walls cov
ered with very ancient frescoes and
other works of art — here Giotto
was in his glory. And there is a
memory of a host of college boys
wandering to and fro with their
arms upon one another's shoulders.
A world-famous University, that

118 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

has been flourishing half a thou
sand years, is located here.

Somehow, one can not help
thinking of Enrico and his Italian
"School-Boy's Journal" — that most
charming of the works of De Ami-
cis — when one falls in with these
Paduan students, with their trou
badour faces and airs and graces —
albeit they are not half so interest
ing as little Enrico. Oh, the power,
the beauty, the fervor and the
pathos of that book — "Cuore," by
Edmondo de Amicis! Read it if
you have not read it ; there you will
see the heart of Young Italy laid
bare.

The great circular piazza of the
city is wreathed with a double row
of statues, commemorating in mar
ble the famous — or perhaps in
some cases the infamous — gradu
ates of the memorable University.

In Anthony's day Padua was a
very different town. Now it lan
guishes in its comfortable age;
then it was the abode of luxury, the
haunt of vice. Debauchery and
usury flourished; family feuds
were rife, and God was forgotten.
At Rimini, Bourges, Toulouse, An-

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 119

thony had warred against heresy;
at Padua it was the sensuous and
sensual and dissolute life of the
people he was called upon to re
form. Fearlessly he struck at the
root of the evil ; face to face he at
tacked the depravity of those high
in office ; hand to hand he wrestled
with every obstacle that was raised
before him, and overthrew them
each and all. He was gentle, but
firm; and his manner was so ma
jestic, his argument so convincing,
and his denunciation so terrible,
that no one could long withstand
him.

He put an end to the most pain
ful family contentions, and to the
scandalous quarrels of political
factions. Guelph and Ghibelline
were reconciled; those who had
been long estranged fell upon one
another's necks and exchanged the
kiss of peace. Those who seemed
unapproachable were approached
by him ; those who were deaf to all
others gave him an attentive ear.

Sixty-four years after his con
version by St. Anthony, a once
notorious brigand gave to the Fri
ars Minor the following remark-

120 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

able narrative of his personal ex
perience :

"I was a brigand by profession
and one of a band of robbers. There
were twelve of us living in the
forest, whence we issued to waylay
travellers and commit every kind
of depredation. The reputation of
Anthony, his preaching and his
miraculous deeds, penetrated even
to our ears in the depths of the
forest. Rumor compared him to
the Prophet Elias. It was said his
words were so ardent and effica
cious as to resemble the spark that
falling into the sheaves of corn sets
them aflame and consumes them.

"We resolved to disperse our
selves one day amongst the crowd
in order to test the truth of these
assertions. While he spoke another
voice seemed to resound in our ears
— the voice of remorse. After the
sermon all the twelve of us, con
trite and repentant, threw our
selves at his feet. He called down
upon us the divine pardon, but not
without warning us that if we un
fortunately relapsed into our old
ways we should perish miserably.
This prediction was verified. A

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 121

few did relapse, and ended their
days on the gallows. Those who
persevered fell asleep in the peace
of the Lord.

"As for myself, St. Anthony im
posed upon me the penance of mak
ing a pilgrimage twelve times to
the tomb of the Apostles. To-day
I have completed my twelfth visit ;
and I feel confident that, according
to his promise and through his
merits, I shall meet him above."
The chronicle adds: "Tears and
sobs interrupted the old man's last
words."

Anthony is the glory of Padua,
and gloriously has Padua en
shrined him. In all her strange,
eventful history there is no name
that shines like his. He was one of
the two who did more for the en
lightenment, the humanizing and
the harmonizing of the hordes of
the Middle Ages than all the rest
besides.

Frederic Morin, in his "St. Fran
cois et les Franciscains," says:
"Modern Europe has no idea of all
it owes to St. Francis of Assisi."
Montalembert has proved by indis
putable facts that "the victory of

122 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

Christianity over neo-paganism in
the Middle Ages was chiefly due to
the gallant efforts of the two new
religious bodies that sprang up in
the thirteenth century."

In the introduction of his life of
"St. Elizabeth of Hungary" Mon-
talembert says: "The children of
St. Dominic and St. Francis spread
themselves over Italy (then torn
by so many disorders), striving to
reconcile rival factions, to vindi
cate truth and confute error; act
ing as supreme arbitrators, yet
judging all things in a spirit of
charity. In 1233 they could be
seen traversing the peninsula,
armed with crosses, incense, and
olive branches; upbraiding the
cities and princes with their crimes
and enmities ; and the people, for a
time at least, bowed before this
sublime mediation." Cesare Can-
tu, in his "Histoire Universelle,"
adds: "At the head of the peace
makers we must place St. Francis
of Assisi and his disciple St. An
thony of Padua."

Anthony preached peace and he
restored it. His constant cry was :
"No more war; no more hatred

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 123

and bloodshed, but peace ! God wills
it!" And there was peace. He was
not quite alone in his noble efforts
toward the reconciliation of all
mankind: the parish clergy, the
sons of St. Benedict and St. Domi
nic, as well as the sons of St. Fran
cis, rallied at his call and mustered
under his generalship. It was a
holy war and a triumphant one.
Among these soldiers of the Cross
was one Luke Belludi, a preacher
of eloquence and power, who re
ceived the habit from St. Francis
himself, and who was one of An
thony's most devoted followers.
His ashes lie buried by the side of
those of the Saint he loved, in that
wonderful shrine in Padua.

He had his willing workers there
in Padua and elsewhere, but the
burden fell upon the shoulders of
Anthony. And what a burden of
responsibility, of patient endur
ance, of calm judgment and wise
and deliberate action it was! Yet
all the while he was devoted to his
mission: day and night he was in
the pulpit or the confessional, or
by the bedside of the sick and dy
ing; and none of the thousand

184 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

cares of the sacred ministry was
neglected by him. Ever forgetful
of self, it is said that often and
often he would toil until evening
with no other nourishment, and no
thought of other nourishment, than
the Blessed Bread he had received
from the altar at dawn. And all
this was for the love of his people,
for the honor of Padua and the
greater glory of God.

XX.

THE PASSING OF ANTHONY.

ANTHONY having chosen Padua as
his place of residence, because, as
his biographer, John Peckham,
says, "of the faith of its inhabi
tants, their attachment to him, and
their devotion to the Friars
Minor," he there ended his life-
work in his thirty-sixth year of
grace.

How he loved Padua! A fort
night before his death, having as
cended a hill overshadowing the
city, he gazed down upon it in all
its beauty; and, stretching forth
his hands above its marble palaces,
its domes, and lofty bell-towers,
embosomed in bower of foliage;
while the incense of its blossoming
gardens was wafted to him, and
the ripening corn-fields and the
vineyards framed it all in a frame
of gold and green and purple, he
exclaimed in rapture: "Blessed be
thou, 0 Padua, for the beauty of

[125]

126 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

thy site! Blessed be thou for the
harvest of thy fields ! Blessed also
shalt thou be for the honor with
which Heaven is about to crown
thee!" What honor? At that
moment, in a vision, he beheld the
celestial city, and through the
gates of Padua the beloved his soul
was to pass hence forever.

It was while on his way to the
heights of Campo San Pietro, a
few miles from Padua, passing
through a wood, the property of
his friend Don Tiso, Anthony dis
covered a walnut-tree of gigantic
proportions ; here was deep shadow,
layer upon layer, among branches
as large as the rafters of a hall.
Nothing could be more inviting;
for only the birds nested there,
while the butterflies fluttered in the
sunshine that environed it. It was
a green island in a golden sea; a
place of refuge and refreshment
for the world-weary.

Having foreknowledge of his
death, Anthony bethought him of
this retreat. With pliant boughs
he wove a wall of verdure, and
fashioned a little cell between earth
and heaven, — the daintiest oratory

The Wonder-Worker of Padua IS7

that ever was, and a couch for one
who was in the world but not of it.
The old masters have pictured him
as in a nest among the spreading
branch, and have painted him with
childlike simplicity as brooding
there. Probably his leafy cell was
a little heaven of detachment,
where nothing ever broke in upon
his meditations. His faithful al
lies, Brother Luke Belludi and
Brother Roger, kept watch with
him, — two silent sentinels stand
ing between him and the outer
world.

Once a day he descended from
his airy solitude and broke bread
with the two Brothers who attend
ed him ; it seemed to be more a mat
ter of form than of necessity. He
no longer was of the earth as we
are, but was a spirit bearing about
a fragile shell of clay that was soon
to be laid aside, a useless and aban
doned thing. His waking hours
were passed in prayer and in the
completion of his commentaries.
He spoke not, nor was he ever
known to smile: he was absorbed
in preparation for his final flight.

One day, when he had descended

128 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

to break his fast with his compan
ions, he fainted at their rustic
board. At first the Brothers
thought him in ecstasy — for his
ecstasies were frequent now; but,
seeing the shadow of death upon
him, they hastened to assist him to
a couch of green shoots close at
hand. Having recovered conscious
ness, and seeing the Brothers bend
ing over him in tears, he begged
that he might at once be taken to
the monastery at Padua, there to
die among his brethren, supported
by their presence and their pray
ers. He was tenderly placed in a
passing peasant's cart, and the sad
procession started. But so great
was his exhaustion when they
reached Arcella — the Convent of
Poor Clares, near the gates of the
city, — that the Brothers besought
him to alight there to seek the rest
he stood so much in need of. With
difficulty he was assisted into a
small hospice adjoining the con
vent, where dwelt three or four
Friars Minor who acted as chap
lains to the daughters of St. Clare.
By this time Anthony was begin
ning to lose consciousness; but,

The Wonder-Worker of Padua lid

recovering himself for a little
while, he made his last confession.
When the friars proposed to anoint
him he said: "I already possess
that unction within myself; but it
is good to receive it outwardly."

While Extreme Unction was be
ing administered he recited with
the brethren prayers for the dying
and the Penitential Psalms, and re
ceived the absolution. Then, filled
with a heavenly joy that was like
an ecstasy, to the wonder of those
about him, he sang alone, and in a
clear, full voice, his favorite hymn :

0 gloriosa Domina
Excelsa super sidera,
Qui te creavit provide
Lactasti sacro ubere.

Quod Eva tristis abstulit,
Tu reddis almo germine:
Intrent ut astra flebiles,
Cceli fenestra f acta es.

Tu Regis alti janua,
Et porta lucis fulgida:
Vitam datam per Virginem,
Gentes, redemptae, plaudite.

Gloria tibi, Domine,
Qui natus es de Virgine,
Cum Patre et Sancto Spiritu
In sempiterna saecula.

ISO The Wonder-Worker of Padua

Having ceased singing, he raised
his eyes to heaven with a gaze that
startled his companions; it was as
if those eyes were filled with some
wondrous vision. Brother Roger,
in whose arms he was supported,
said: "What do you see?" And
Anthony answered, still gazing in
rapture: "I behold my God!" For
about half an hour he was lost in
contemplation of the beatific
vision; and then, like a weary child,
he fell into a deep sleep — and woke
no more.

At the moment when his soul
was set free from its earthly taber
nacle Anthony appeared to Don
Thomas, the Abbot of St. Andrew's
at Vercelli, who was at the time
sitting alone in the room. His for
mer pupil entered and said to him :
"See, Father Abbot, I have left my
burden near the gates of Padua,
and am hastening to mine own
country." He then passed his hand
caressingly across the throat of the
Abbot, who was suffering from a
severe chronic affliction; and the
throat was permanently cured.
Thereupon Anthony disappeared.

The Abbot, surprised at the sud-

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 1S1

den entrance and the exit of An
thony, hastened after him to beg
him to remain a little while a
guest ; but, throwing open the door
of his chamber, no Anthony was
visible. Those who were waiting
in the ante-chamber had seen noth
ing of him ; nor had any one at St.
Andrew's save the Abbot, any
knowledge of Anthony. Then the
Abbot knew that the burden An
thony had left at Padua was his
body; and that the home to which
he was hastening was not Portu
gal, but Paradise.

Efforts were made to keep An
thony's death a secret. He was the
popular idol of all Italy, and not
alone of Italy: he had wielded
greater personal influence than al
most any man of his time. He was
not only respected by the masses,
but he was listened to with rapt
attention by the representatives of
all classes, from the peer to the
peasant. He was loved by all,
reverenced by all; he was fairly
worshipped by the vast multitude
of his faithful followers. And,
therefore, it was deemed wise to
keep his death a secret — for a time

182 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

at least, — lest the populace should
be distracted and demoralized by so
terrible a blow.

Man proposes! Hardly had his
bright spirit taken its flight when
the children of Padua — the chil
dren he so dearly loved, — as if in
spired, rushed about the streets in
a kind of frenzy, crying out : "Our
Saint is dead! St. Anthony is
dead!" Consternation followed;
the whole city was plunged in des
perate grief; and still worse was
to follow.

The body of Anthony was a
precious treasure coveted by all.
As the dying gaze of St. Francis
rested upon Assisi, the city of his
soul, whose portals he was not
again permitted to enter in the
flesh, so Anthony, homesick and
heart-sick for his Padua, gave up
the ghost without her gates. Had
Anthony entered the city and
breathed his last in the monastery
of his Order, there could have
arisen no question as to the ulti
mate disposition of his remains.
But he fell by the wayside, as it
were ; therefore the Poor Clares, in
whose humble hospice he died,

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 1SS

claimed the honor of enshrining
his remains; so did his brethren,
the Friars Minor of Padua ; so also
did the suburbs and the magistracy
of Padua promptly forward their
claims. Thus it happened that the
body of the Saint who strove to
bring peace into the world once
more, became the source of violent
contention.

John Peckham describes the
grief of the Poor Clares at the
death of Anthony. "Alas!" they
cried, "unhappy we! 0 tender
Father of our souls, taken forever
from your daughters, why has
death spared us for this cruel
blow? Our poverty contented us
and we counted ourselves rich
when we could hear you preach to
us the Gospel of the Lord."

Then one of the nuns sought to
console the others in these words:
"Why shed useless tears? It is not
the dead we are bewailing, but an
immortal, the companion of angels,
an inhabitant of heaven. A great
consolation will flow for us out of
this painful separation if we can
keep him here amongst us — a joy
we could not have whilst he lived."

ISU The Wonder-Worker of Padua

The Poor Clares sent a deputa
tion to the magistrates and nobles
of Padua, beseeching them to lend
their influence to the end that the
body of Anthony might be retained
in their convent. The friars, imme
diately upon learning of his death,
hastened to Arcella with the in
tention of removing the remains at
once to their monastery of Santa
Maria. "It was his wish," they
said, in proof of their right to pos
sess the body. And so it was his
wish; yet the people of Capodi-
ponte, where Arcella was situated,
openly sided with the Poor Clares,
and resolved that the Friars Minor
should not carry away with them
the blessed remains. The friars ap
pealed to the bishop, who decided in
their favor; but when the enthu
siastic Paduans went forth to bring
away the body, they were met by
the armed partisans of the Poor
Clares, and bloodshed seemed im
minent and inevitable.

At length the bishop persuaded
the combatants to declare a truce
until the provincial — who was ab
sent at the time, and had been sent
for — should return. Still this did

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 135

not suffice. That very night, while
the friars at the hospice of the
Poor Clares were watching beside
the dead behind barricaded doors,
the excited populace, eager to get a
view of the body, if not to carry
it away with them, threw down the
barricades and rushed in to drive
away the watchers. On the instant
they were struck blind, and trans
fixed as if turned to stone.

At daybreak the multitude as
sembled to look upon the body of
Anthony and to touch it. Miracles
were wrought then and there;
while from time to time arose a
wail from the people, who cried
with one voice : "Whither have you
gone, loving Father of Padua?
Have you really gone away, and
left behind the children who re
pented and were born again to
Christ through you? Where shall
we find another to preach to us
orphans with such patience and
charity?"

Owing to the non-arrival of the
provincial, Brother Leo Valvasari,
a very wise and prudent man —
later Archbishop of Milan, — went
out to calm the passions of the ever-

136 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

increasing throngs. Addressing
the men of Arcella, he said :

"My brothers, there can be no
question of justice as regards your
claim; but if you wish to retain
the body of Father Anthony, ask
ing it as a favor, I and my breth
ren will consult as to what seems to
be the will of God. Meanwhile I
gladly give you permission to
watch the place where our holy
Father Anthony lies, in order that
you may not distrust us."

A body of armed men was sent
from Padua to protect the convent
of the Poor Clares, and an order
issued that any one molesting the
friars, or found carrying weapons
at Arcella, should be fined a hun
dred pounds of silver.

When the bishop held court a
few days later, he summoned the
Friars Minor, as well as the repre
sentatives of Capodiponte, in order
that he might hear and judge both
sides of the question. It was now
the belated provincial who arose
and said:

"Justice is a holy thing, and
must never be made the sport of
passion. Love and attachment are

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 137

praiseworthy, but they must give
way to justice. This present affair
has been conducted with blind pas
sion rather than according to the
rules of justice. Who can dloubt
that Brother Anthony belonged to
us? You all witnessed his arrival
at Santa Maria; how he wrent in
and out amongst us; how if he
went on a journey it was to us he
returned. A month ago he left us ;
but only, as he himself said, to
come back in a short time, and then
to remain with us altogether. I,
therefore, who, although un
worthy, govern this province, de
clare frankly Brother Anthony be
longs to us, as he himself wished.
We do not demand this; but we, in
all humility, ask the venerated
chief pastor, the honorable council,
and the faithful people of Padua,
to grant our petition."

^The petition was granted: the
Sisters of Arcella graciously re
signed their claim; peace was re
stored; and on the 18th of June,
1231 — five days after his death —
the body of Anthony was solemnly
conveyed from the convent of the
Poor Clares to the Church of Santa

138 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

Maria, in Padua. It was a tri
umphal procession, participated in
by the bishop, the clergy, the mem
bers of the University, the civil
authorities, and vast throngs of the
inhabitants. The noblest of the
Padovani in turn carried the bier;
a myriad flaming candles borne
after it were as a wake of fire. Pon
tifical Mass was celebrated by the
bishop; and, after the customary
rites, the body was laid in a marble
sarcophagus supported by four col
umns. From this shrine a flood of
miraculous power issued. The
blind saw, the deaf heard, the
maimed walked, and the sick were
healed. Even those who could not
enter the church for the throngs
that filled it to suffocation were
cured in the presence of the multi
tudes without.

Toward the end of his life, by
reason of his prolonged vigils, his
continuous fasting, his arduous
and unceasing labors, Anthony's
form was wasted, his face hag
gard, his skin like drawn parch
ment; he was enfeebled to the
verge of decrepitude. Those who
looked upon his body after death

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 139

found it restored to the incompa
rable beauty of youth. The smile of
infancy played upon those fair fea
tures; a delicate flush suffused
them; the limbs were once more
softly rounded, and were pliable
to the very last, as if he were but
dreaming a sweet dream of rest.
There he lay, wrapped in the inno
cent slumber of a child, fragrant as
a dew-drenched rose — a very lily
of purity plucked in its perfect
prime.

XXI.

THE SORROWS OF ANTHONY.

How can a saint be sorrowful?
Should not his sanctity alone be
sufficient to fill him with inexpres
sible joy? He can sorrow for the
sins of others, though he himself is
sinless. Anthony no doubt did this
again and again, and yet again. He
can despise himself and his works,
they both fall so far short of his
ideal; and surely this is sorrow
enough for one soul to suffer. An
thony sorrowed in like manner;
but I believe this was not his chief
sorrow. The source of his sorrow
lay elsewhere.

In looking back through the
brief history of his career, we find
that, in a certain sense, Anthony's
life was a series of disappoint
ments, — was, in fact, one long dis
appointment from beginning to
end. He did not pride himself
upon his noble blood. He despised
the riches that were in store for

[140]

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 141

him and turned from them with
contempt. He took no pleasure in
the pastimes of his playmates. He
sought only solitude; for his soul
was ever solitary, and would fain
fly away into the wilderness and
there make its home.

Having found a solitude which
seemed suitable in all respects, his
spiritual tranquillity was disturbed
by the advent of the friars who
were even then far on the royal
road to martyrdom. Then solitude
lost its charms; he also yearned
for the baptism of blood — the
blessed pangs, the purifying
flames, and the martyr's glorious
palm. Yet these were not for him.
At the very threshold of the arena,
where torture and cruel death
awaited their innocent victims, he
was denied admittance and laid
low with a fever that compelled his
reluctant retreat. Here was sor
row upon sorrow; for he had been
thus rudely awakened from the
loftiest dream of his life.

Again his heart sought retire
ment, and, like the stricken deer,
fled from the herd in anguish and
dismay. The world he loathed

142 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

with a righteous loathing; and to
escape from it he feigned a sim
plicity of mind that, had it been
genuine, must have unfitted him
for almost every walk in life.
Through this innocent ruse he was
once more enabled to taste the
sweets of solitude. There he en
riched himself with those spiritual
riches which he was anon to scatter
broadcast through the world.

Not long could he hide his light
under a bushel, let him try never
so hard. The breadth and beauty
of his mind, the loving kindness of
his heart, the splendor of his tal
ents, the wisdom of his judgment,
the depth of his penetration, the
profundity of his speculations, and
the luminous exposition of every
theme he touched upon, finally
swept him into the very vortex of
political and religious contention.

This was the end of all his cher
ished hopes and fond aspirations.
Real solitude he could never again
know, save at long intervals and
for a little moment; and even then
he must have accused himself of
leaving worldly duties unper-

The Wonder-Worker of Padua US

formed for the holier and purer
joy of silence and seclusion.

But sorrow's crown of sorrow
awaited him. Finding himself sud
denly called to his reward, with
but a few hours between him and
the grave, his one desire was to
reach the city he had chosen for
his own and the monastery of his
brother friars, where he had hoped
to end his days. Within sight of
the gates of that city, within sound
of the monastery bell, he was
stricken down to death; and for a
time it seemed as if his dust would
not be permitted to lie within the
sanctuary of his adoption.

Therefore I say that the sorrows
of Anthony were, in a certain
sense, continuous and unceasing, —
that his life was one long sorrow.
He bore this grievous burden meek
ly and in silence, with never a mur
mur of complaint. We have not
learned from his lips or his pen a
single syllable of his sufferings,
mental, spiritual, or physical; but
we know full well that he was a
man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief.

XXII.

THE JOYS OF ANTHONY.

SORROW is for a night; joy cometh
with the morning; and joys are
the more joyful by reason of the
sorrows that have preceded them.
Life without contrasts is like a
picture without light and shade —
a blank. Such a life is not worth
the living.

A poet has remarked: "The joy
of love is loving." This is doubtless
true, and this was Anthony's chief
joy: he loved his fellowmen even
when he sought to shun them. It
was his nature to love, even as it
was his nature to seek retirement,
and to strive, perhaps, to forget
the object of his love; for his love
for God was the ruling passion of
his life. As he loved all, so he won
the love of all — even the love of
his enemies, who straightway be
came his faithful followers.

Out of the abundance of his love
he worked his wonders. Like a

[144]

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 145

good husbandman, he went to and
fro sowing peace in the field of
dissension. At his approach, bring
ing with him as he did an atmos
phere that penetrated the hardest
heart and softened it, he attuned
long-standing discords; he har
monized the inharmonious home
circle.

To the wife fleeing from the
wrath of an enraged and unreason
able husband, he said: "Return to
your own home in peace." And
when she had come to her own
house, a kindly welcome awaited
her. To the infant whose lips had
not yet framed a syllable, and
whose father had unjustly accused
his wife of infidelity, Anthony
said: "My child, I adjure thee, in
the name of the Infant God of the
Manger, to declare publicly, in
clear and positive terms, to whom
them owest thy existence." The
child, in the arms of its mother,
turned toward the accuser and pro
nounced distinctly these three
words: "Behold my father!" Then
Anthony, taking the babe and
placing it in the arms of the hus
band, said: "Love this child for it

146 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

is indeed your own. Love also your
wife, who has been proved to be
faithful, devoted, and worthy of
your affection."

What a sermon, in a few words
on true and false love, he preached
at the funeral of the Florentine
notable! Anthony's text was:
"Where thy treasure is there thy
heart is also." Pausing suddenly,
he beheld in a vision the soul of
that rich man in torment. He ex
claimed: "This rich man is dead
and his soul is in torture ! Go open
his coffers and you will find his
heart." The astonished relatives
and friends hastened to do his bid
ding ; and there, half buried among
the gold pieces, they found the still
palpitating heart of the dead Croe
sus.

It was Anthony's fearless joy to
bring the misguided bishop to re
pentance. He must have been con
scious of his power to impart
health to the sick, and even to
breathe life into the marble lips
of the dead. Daily — nay, almost
hourly — he brought peace to the
heart that was troubled; he dried
the tears of the mourner, and

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 147

planted hope in the bosom of de
spair. These were the joys that
must have visited him daily — yea,
even hourly; for daily and hourly
was he scattering benedictions
broadcast, even as the rain from
heaven that falleth alike upon the
just and the unjust.

And so he passed away from
sorrows that were ended, and from
earthly joys to the joys of heaven,
— the joys that are without begin
ning and without end. He passed
away beloved and bewailed by peo
ples and by nations, whose hearts
he had touched as they had never
yet been touched; whose con
sciences he had pricked until they
had goaded their possessors into
new paths, where they learned to
lead nobler and braver lives ; whose
souls he had quickened and gath
ered into the fold, and saved for
ever and forever.

XXIII.
THE GLORIES OF ANTHONY.

NUMBERLESS are the glories of An
thony, and they are ever increasing
from age to age. Pope Gregory IX.,
who called him "the Ark of both
Testaments and the storehouse of
the Sacred Scriptures," longed to
honor him. Under his teaching and
preaching numberless heretics had
been converted, rebellious cities
had been reconciled, and the mira
cles which were being constantly
wrought through his instrumental
ity had created astonishing fervor
throughout the land; therefore it
was the wish of his Holiness to at
tach Anthony to the Papal court
and invest him with the purple.
The gentle Franciscan, remember
ing the replies of St. Dominic and
St. Francis on a like occasion, in
1217, made answer in the words of
the founder of his Order. "My
Lord," said the Seraphic Father,
"my children are called Friars

[148]

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 149

Minor because they hold the lowest
rank in the Church. This is their
post of honor. Beware of taking it
from them under the pretext of
raising them higher." So Anthony
was permitted to return into the
solitude of God, and this was one
of his glories.

It was a glorious privilege An
thony enjoyed when he was per
mitted to fly to the rescue of his
father, who was in dire distress.
That father — Don Martino — was
still a resident of Lisbon, still bask
ing in the favor of the King and
holding high office in the court. One
day a young nobleman coming
from the cathedral was seized and
murdered by assassins, who threw
the body into the garden of Don
Martino, which was close at hand.
Don Martino was arrested on sus
picion and cast into prison.

To Anthony the fate of his father
was miraculously revealed. Having
perfect faith in his innocence, and
desiring to go at once to his rescue,
Anthony asked leave of the supe
rior of the convent of Arcella to
absent himself from Padua for a
little time. He was himself Provin-

150 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

cial, and not obliged to ask leave of
the Father Guardian ; but he never
forgot the exercise of humility, for
he was meekness itself. Having
obtained leave of absence, he began
his weary journey, scarcely know
ing when or how he was to reach
its end, or whether he should arrive
in. time to rescue his father from
impending peril. Filled with hope
and perfect trust, suddenly he
found himself miraculously trans
ported to Lisbon. The trial was in
progress. Anthony at once enter
ed the courts ; and, presenting him
self before the judges, who were
struck dumb with amazement, he
begged leave to speak in defence of
Don Martino. He declared his
father innocent. Where were his
proofs? Anthony replied: "The
murdered man shall bear witness
as to the truth of my testimony."

Anthony led the way to the
victim's grave, followed by the
wondering judges and the excited
populace. He commanded that the
grave be opened; and when it was
opened, and the body was uncov
ered, Anthony, addressing the dead
man, charged him, in the name of

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 151

God to say whether Martinp de
Bouillon was his murderer. Rising
in his grave-clothes to a sitting
posture, resting upon one hand
while the other was raised to heav
en, the dead declared in a loud
voice that Martino de Bouillon was
guiltless. Then, turning to An
thony, he begged absolution from
an excommunication under which
he labored; and, when his prayer
was answered, he sank back into
his coffin, a corpse again. Then
the bewildered judges begged the
Saint to reveal the name of the
murderer, and he replied : "I come
to clear the innocent, not to de
nounce the guilty." When Anthony
re-appeared at Arcella, he had been
absent two nights and a single day.
On another occasion Don Mar
tino, who had the management
of a considerable portion of the
royal exchequer, delivered a large
sum of money into the hands of his
subordinates, who neglected to give
him a receipt for it. Some months
later, when about to render his ac
counts he remembered that he had
no receipt for certain monies de
livered ; and when he asked for one,

152 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

those who had received the sum de
nied all knowledge of the transac
tion. It was a plot of his enemies
to ruin him. While he was stand
ing before his audacious accusers,
in despair of proving his case, An
thony appeared at his side; and,
naming to his accusers the exact
hour and the very place when and
where they had received the money,
even describing the different coins
in which it had been paid, he de
manded that a full receipt be at
once rendered to his father ; and as
soon as it was done he disappeared.
This is one of several instances of
bilocation in the miraculous his
tory of Anthony.

He knew the minds and the
hearts of all, and spoke to many
at a distance, calling them by
name — he had perhaps never met
them face to face. At his word they
were converted, and returned to
the Holy Sacraments. Said Pope
Gregory IX. six hundred years ago :
"The supernatural which blossoms
from the tombs of the elect is a
continuous proclamation of truth;
for by this means God confounds
the malice of heretics, confirms the

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 153-

truth of Catholic dogma, renews
the faith that is on the point of be
ing extinguished, leads back Chris
tians who have erred — nay, even
Jews and pagans — to the feet of
Him who is the Way, the Truth,
and the Life."

The famous book of the Bollan-
dists contains nearly thirty folio
pages filled with the record of pure
miracles. Azevedo devotes an en
tire book of four chapters to some
of the miracles of Anthony selected
by the Bollandists as most authen
tic. Under the head of "Death,"
among the classified miracles, Aze
vedo names a dozen cases; in each
case the dead was brought to life.
Under the head of "Error" he
notes numerous miraculous conver
sions, among them a Lutheran, a
Calvinist, a Turkish lady, and an
Indian prince. Under the title of
"Calamity" are stories of miracu
lous relief brought to many and
various persons. Those condemned
to death were delivered, the impris
oned were set free, and all manner
of diseases were healed.

It is a pretty story told of a child
whose mother seeing it fall from a

154 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

high window, cried to Anthony for
help. When the distracted mother
rushed to seek her boy, he ran
smiling to her and said : "A friar
caught me in his arms and placed
me gently on the ground." The
mother took her child to the old
Franciscan church of Ara Coeli, in
Rome, to return thanks; and as
they entered it the little fellow,
pointing to a picture, said: "See! —
there is the friar who saved me!"
The friar was St. Anthony of
Padua.

A poor leper was being carried
to the shrine of Anthony when he
was met by a heartless soldier who
scoffingly saluted him: "Whither
art thou going, wretch? May thy
leprosy come upon myself if St.
Anthony succeeds in curing thee!"
The leper went his way ; and, while
praying fervently, the Saint ap
peared to him and said: "Arise!
Thou art whole. But seek out the
soldier who mocked thee and give
him the clappers; for leprosy is
already devouring him." (The clap
pers were an instrument of warn
ing which all lepers were obliged to
carry about with them when in the

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 155

streets, that people might avoid in
fection.) He who was a leper but
a few moments before found the
soldier in a wretched plight. The
soldier, in his turn, repented; and,
calling upon the Saint, he was
straightway healed.

Many were the wells he blessed,
and the waters thereof cured fevers
from that hour. Indeed, so wide is
the range of his miracles that one
may call on him in any strait.

Perhaps the tenderest devotion
of all he has awakened in the
guileless heart of maidenhood. At
his feet she lays her heart, and
asks of him guidance in the choice
of its protector. Trusting him,
through him she would trust his
choice for her; and thus repose in
perfect confidence upon the bosom
of one whose lot in life she has been
sought to share in a union so dear,
so delicate, -so devotional, it seems
indeed under the immediate pat
ronage of the most loyal and lov
able of saints.

Anthony spent the first fifteen
years of his brief life in his pater
nal home; two years at St. Vin
cent's the monastery of the Canons

156 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

Regular of St. Augustine, near
Lisbon; nine years at Santa Cruz,
in Coimbra; and about ten and a
half years in the Order of the Fri
ars Minor. He then passed away.
So prodigious were the wonders
worked at his tomb and through
his intercession, within six months
after Anthony's death the bishop
of Padua petitioned the Holy See
to confer on the wonder-worker the
honor of canonization. The pre
liminary judicial inquiries were
instituted without delay; and, by
an exception almost unparalleled
in history, before the year was
ended, on Whit-Sunday, May 30,
1232, the Sovereign Pontiff Greg
ory IX., then at Spoleto, solemnly
pronounced the decree of canoniza
tion. In it he says :

"Having ourselves witnessed the
wonderful and holy life of blessed
Anthony, the great wonder-worker
of the universal Church, and un
willing to withhold the honor due
on earth from one whom Heaven it
self has surrounded with glory, we,
in virtue of the plenitude of our
apostolic authority, after having
duly consulted our brethren the

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 157

cardinals, deem it expedient to in
scribe him in the calendar of
saints."

Indescribable rejoicing followed
the announcement that Anthony
had been declared a saint. His
mother and his two sisters, who
survived him, enjoyed the extraor
dinary privilege of witnessing the
festivities given in honor of the
Saint. Every city that had known
him in the flesh now especially
honored him; every house or hos
pice or haunt that he had visited
became hallowed in the eyes of his
followers and a place of pious pil
grimage. At Brive, in the south of
France, pilgrimages were twice in
terrupted and for a long time dis
continued. In 1565 the Calvinists
were the cause of this interruption,
and in 1793 the Revolutionists. But
in 1874 Monsignor Berteaux re
established the devotion; the sons
of St. Francis again took posses
sion of the hill sanctified by the
prayers of the wonder-worker ; and
the Bishop of Tulle, on August 3,
1874, when the Franciscans were
reinstated, remarked on that joy
ful occasion :

158 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

"To-day I, the Bishop of this dio
cese, in the name of the Church,
take possession again of this vener
able sanctuary, this celestial hill. . .
This spot has heard the ardent
sighs of an impassioned lover of
Christ, — the mighty orator who
drew his mystic lore from the Sa
cred Scriptures and deserved to be
styled by Gregory IX. 'the Ark of
the Testament.' His commen
taries on the divine pages may be
likened to a golden harp sending
forth magnificent harmonies to the
glory of the Word Incarnate. The
Child Jesus Himself touched his
lips and his fingers, that they might
pour forth golden words. This in
spired preacher of the word of God,
whom we call Anthony of Padua,
has trodden these valleys and
plains, has prayed and watched in
this lonely cave, has slaked his
thirst in this clear water which is
a reflection of the purity of his soul.
To-day I bid you welcome, sons of
St. Francis, to this spot, once in
habited by your brother, the great
wonder-worker. Proclaim Christ
wheresoever you go ; ... and in all
your strivings imitate your holy

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 159

brother in St. Francis, the great
St. Anthony of Padua."

Brive is annually the resort of
thousands of pilgrims; and not
Brive only and the valley of the
Correze: everywhere and under
many forms St. Anthony is ven
erated. At Vaucluse and else
where it has been the custom to
invoke St. Anthony in order to in
sure a plentiful harvest. In a brev
iary of the fourteenth century
belonging to the diocese of Apt we
find the following form of blessing,
— it is the blessing of the seed-
grain :

"Bless, 0 Lord! this seed; and,
through the merits of pur blessed
father St. Anthony, deign to mul
tiply it, and cause it to bring forth
fruit a hundredfold; and preserve
it from lightning and tempest. Who
livest and reignest world without
end. Amen."

In the same volume is found the
following prayer used when a bless
ing was invoked upon a child ; and
a measure of corn — the weight of
the child — was distributed among
the poor :

"We humbly beseech Thy clem-

160 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

ency, 0 Lord Jesus Christ ! through
the merits and prayers of our most
glorious father St. Anthony, that
Thou 'wouldst deign to preserve
from all ill — fits, plague, epi
demic, fever and mortality — this
Thy servant, who, in Thy name
and in honor of our blessed father
St. Anthony, we place in this bal
ance with wheat, the weight of his
body, for the comfort of the poor
sick who suffer in this hospital.
Deign to give him length of days,
and permit him to attain the even
ing of life ; and, by the merits and
prayers of the Saint we invoke,
grant him a portion in Thy holy
and eternal inheritance, guarding
and preserving him from all his
enemies. Who livest and reignest
with the Father and the Holy Ghost
world without end. Amen."

XXIV.

AN UNFADING MEMORY.

FROM the very first, confraterni
ties in honor of St. Anthony have
existed in many parts of the world.
With the revival of the spirit of
Catholic devotion, the love for St.
Anthony increased. His blessed
name had ever been associated with
the relief of the wants of the poor ;
and a favorite form of charity, in
his name, has been the liberal be
stowal of loaves among the hungry
and impoverished. This bread has
come to be known as the bread of
St. Anthony.

Says a good woman, writing as
late as 1892, from Toulon:

"I promised bread to St. An
thony for his poor if he would help
me, and he has helped me. All my
friends pray with me to the good
Saint, and all our troubles are com
mended to him with a promise of
bread to his poor. We are astonish
ed at the graces thus obtained. One

[161]

162 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

of my most intimate friends prom
ised a certain amount of bread
every day of her life if a member
of her family could be cured of a
fault that had caused her great
grief for three and twenty years,
and the prayer was granted. In
thanksgiving she bought a little
statue of St. Anthony, and we put
it up in a dark corner where we re
quire a big lamp to see it. And now
my backshop is filled all day with
people in fervent prayer. Not only
do they pray, but one would think
that they were paid to spread this
devotion, so zealously do they do so.
Sometimes a soldier, an officer, a
sea-captain, going for a long voy
age, will promise so much per
month in bread to St. Anthony if
they make their journey safely.
Sometimes it is a mother asking
for the health of her sick child, or
perhaps for the success of an ex
amination. Then, again, it is a
family asking for the conversion of
one amongst them who is dying and
will not see a priest ; a servant out
of a place, or working people out of
work; and all these petitions,

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 163

which are accompanied with the
promise of bread, are granted."

The Universal Association of St.
Anthony of Padua, founded by Don
Locatilli at the request and with
the blessing of Pope Leo XIII., has
been established at Padua. It now
numbers nearly 260,000 members.
The Pious Union — a similar organ
ization — is flourishing in Rome.
Here and there in England and
Ireland, chiefly in convents, the
bread-givers have given freely in
St. Anthony's name.

There is a humble little Francis
can monastery church at Crawley,
Sussex, England. Within that
church is a chapel which for a long
time was not dedicated to any spe
cial object. Recently a remarkably
fine portrait of St. Anthony was
discovered at Crawley; it was
placed in the unoccupied chapel,
and the chapel was dedicated to the
Saint. Thus was established the
Guild of St. Anthony; its object,
the promotion of devotion to St.
Anthony and to propagate the
work of the distribution of his
Bread to the Poor. "Masses and
other spiritual advantages are

164 The Wonder-Worker of Padua.

given to its members, who are
placed under no other obligation
than the entering of their names in
the register kept for that purpose
at Crawley." The alms, or the
bread promised in the name of St.
Anthony, can be given wherever
the donor pleases. Any reader
who is interested in this beautiful
charity can learn full particulars
by applying — in person or through
the mails — to the Rev. Father
Guardian, 0. S. F. C., Franciscan
Monasteiy, Crawley, Sussex, Eng
land.

When faith has been at a low
ebb devotion to our Saint has not
dwindled. At Auges, where there
is a very precious relic of St. An
thony, the inhabitants have been
ever loyal to a man. A hard
working peasant is reported to
have said to his son, with more en
thusiasm than judgment: "You
may work on Sundays and you may
work on holydays — even Christmas
and Easter — if you must; but if
you are so wicked as to work on
St. Anthony's Day I will hang you
from the highest gable of the
house. "

The Wonder-Worker of Padua KJ5

The body of St. Anthony was
brought into Padua on Tuesday.
It is a well-attested fact that no
single sufferer who invoked his aid
on that day failed to be cured. In
1617 a lady of Bologna, who in
her distress had appealed to St.
Anthony, saw in a dream his like
ness. The Saint opened his lips
and said: "Go on nine consecutive
Tuesdays and visit the chapel of
the Friars Minor; there receive
Holy Communion, and thy prayers
shall be granted." And it was as he
had promised her. This miracle
gave rise to the devotion of the
Nine Tuesdays in honor of St. An
thony; later it was increased to
thirteen, in honor of the date of his
death.

For more than thirty years the
body of the Saint remained in its
marble shrine in the Church of
Santa Maria Maggiore; but the
friars and the people were not
content, and in 1263 it was trans
lated by St. Bonaventure to the
high altar of a new church built
by the Friars Minor in his honor.
On opening the shrine at this time,
it was found that the body had

166 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

returned to dust, but the tongue
was incorrupt and of a natural
color. St. Bonaventure exclaimed
in a transport of devotion: "0
blessed tongue, which always didst
bless the Lord and cause others to
bless Him, now does it appear
plainly how highly thou wert es
teemed by God!"

In 1410 his body was again
translated to a chapel which had
been built expressly for it. This
chapel did not satisfy the devotion
of the friars; and still another,
far more commodious and splendid,
was erected, and thither the re
mains were translated in 1350.
Many relics had been scattered
among churches in various parts of
Europe; and these were, as far as
possible, gathered together, and in
1745 they were all solemnly de
posited in the magnificent recep
tacle where they are now vener
ated.

In 1749 the church was nearly
destroyed by fire, yet the altar of
the Saint was quite uninjured.
While the flames were raging fierce
ly, crowds of people were seen
climbing upon the sagging roof and

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 167

hurrying through the building in
the midst of smoke and falling tim
bers ; and, though many fell among
the glowing coals and were struck
by flying firebrands, no one was in
jured.

The church and the chapel are
among the richest and most beauti
ful in the world, and these alone
are sufficient to attract thousands
annually to Padua. His is the rul
ing spirit there ; one thinks only of
him. Often a hideous little carv
ing of bone or wood or metal is of
fered you for a mere trifle ; and his
medals, his photographs, copies of
portraits of surpassing loveliness,
are for sale on every street corner.
Within that shrine what splendor
delights the eye! All that can be
done with marble and bronze, and
silver and gold and precious stones
has been superbly done in the orna
mentation of that wondrous mau
soleum.

Three sunburnt fishermen were
kneeling with their foreheads rest
ing on the sculptured marble of the
tomb when I last drew near it. Is
not good San Antonio the protector
of all seafarers? Do not fair winds

168 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

come through his intercession?
Are not his medals and statuettes
worn by devout Christian sailors
the wide seas over?

Having spent hours of rare re
freshment in that glorious temple,
and gathered my little store of
pious objects, I returned to mine
inn for rest. From the windows I
saw the lofty walls of II Santo —
the Basilica of San Antonio — tow
ering against the sunset. There is
nothing finer than the proportions
of this wondrous structure. Larger
than San Marco at Venice, it is far
more impressive when viewed from
without. There are a hundred
gables that toss like a broken sea.
Clusters of delicate spires spring
into space like frozen fountains;
and over all rise seven splendid
domes that seem to be floating in
mid-air. One almost fears that the
whole will melt away in the twi
light, and leave only the spot that it
once glorified — like an Arabian
tale that is told. Surely its crea
tion was magical. Some genie,
sporting with the elements, made
marble soluble; and, dreaming of
the fabulous East, he blew this

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 169

pyramid of gigantic bubbles, and
had not the heart to let them break
and vanish. Or is it but another
miracle of the beloved Saint?

St Anthony of Padua has been
hailed as the Eminent Doctor, the
defender of the Divinity of the In
carnate Word, and the vindicator
of the Real Presence. He was also
the champion and the apostle of
the glorious mystery of Mary's As
sumption, as the Patriarch of As-
sisi had been of her Immaculate
Conception. It was St. Anthony
who uttered the versicle incor
porated in her Office on the As
sumption: "The august Mother of
God has been assumed into heaven
and placed above the angelic
choirs." What proof had he of
this? Our Blessed Lady appeared
to him ; with his eyes he saw her in
her glory; with enraptured ears
he listened to her voice celestial as
she said: "Be assured, my son,
that this my body, which has been
the living ark of the Word Incar
nate, has been preserved from the
corruption of the grave. Be equally
assured that, three days after my
death, it was carried upon the

170 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

wings of angels to the right hand
of the Son of God, where I reign
Queen."

Therefore, with a heart filled
with indescribable joy, he ex
claimed : "The Virgin of Nazareth
has, by a singular privilege, been
preserved from the original stain
and filled with a plenitude of
grace. Hail, 0 Mother of God, city
of refuge, sublime mountain,
throne of the Most High, fruitful
vine yielding golden grapes, flood
ing the hearts of men with the holy
exaltation of pure love ! Hail, Star
of the Sea ! Thy gentle and radiant
light is our guide in the darkness,
showing us the entrance to the
harbor above. Woe to the pilot
whose eyes are not fixed on thee!
His frail bark will become the play
thing of the storm, and will be
swallowed up in the foaming bil
lows."

The glowing tributes which
have been paid to St. Anthony of
Padua would fill volumes, yet the
noblest tribute of all is the silent but
ardent love his millions of follow
ers have given him. Nothing need
be added to this, yet I will add

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 171

what St. Bonaventure said: that
St. Anthony was "an angelic soul,"
and that his crown of glory was en
riched with all the gems of grace
and perfection distributed amongst
the other saints. "He possessed
the science of the angels, the faith
of the patriarchs, the foreknowl
edge of the prophets, the zeal of the
apostles, the purity of virgins, the
austerities of confessors, and the
heroism of martyrs."

St. Antoninus, the illustrious
Archbishop of Florence, says of St.
Anthony : "He was a vessel of elec
tion, an eagle in knowledge, a won
der-worker beyond compare." And
the Franciscan Liturgy adds: "A
violet of humility, a lily of chas
tity, a rose of divine charity." He
was the ardent advocate, the favor
ite and the champion of the Sacred
Heart. Three centuries after his
death the Venerable Jane Mary of
the Cross describes the following
vision with which she was blessed :

"While in prayer on the Feast
of St. Anthony, I saw the soul of
this Saint borne by angels to the
feet of Christ. Our Lord opened
wide the wound of His Heart ; and

172 The Wonder-Worker of Padua

this Heart, all radiant with light,
attracted and seemed, in some sort,
to absorb the soul of St. Anthony,
as the light of the sun absorbs all
other light. In the Heart of Jesus
the soul of the Saint appeared to
me like a precious gem of radiating
brilliancy, which filled all the cav
ity. The varied play of its colors
represented to me the virtues of the
Saint. They shone with marvel
lous splendor in the ocean of light
proceeding from the Heart of
Jesus, to the honor of Christ and
the glory of the Saint himself.
Then Jesus took this lustrous gem
in His Heart and presented it to
His Heavenly Father, who caused
it to be admired by the angels and
saints."

"When you hear that I am a
saint, then bless ye the Lord."
These words, that fell from the lips
of the youthful Anthony when he
first went in search of martyrdom,
were not addressed to his brethren
at the Abbey of Santa Cruz alone :
they are as fresh and as appealing
now as they ever were; they are
alive and shall always remain

The Wonder-Worker of Padua 173

alive ; and to-day — now — this very
hour — they are addressed to me
and to you, and to everyone that
lives or shall live in ages to come,
even unto the end of the world.
"Bless ye the Lord!"

A TROUBLED HEART, AND HOW IT WAS
COMFORTED AT LAST.

This is a very entertaining volume of auto
biography. In it the author tells the story of
that portion of his life during which he had
been troubled at heart, and tortured by relig
ious doubt. His description of the various
mental states through which he passed, of the
different sects of which he had experience, of
their worship and usages, is most interesting
and entertaining. The author brings to his.
task a very correct and graceful English style,
and shows in many passages of his book that
he is gifted with descriptive powers of a very
high order. This work can be read both with
pleasure and profit. — The Irish Ecclesiastical
Record.

"A Troubled Heart, and How It was Com
forted at Last," is the title of a remarkably
well-written account of the conversion of a
Protestant to the Roman Catholic Church. It
is the soul experience of one who longed for
something more vivid and tangible than the
Protestant service gave him, and who found it
in the impressive ritual of the Roman Church.
Many passages of the book glow with sup
pressed feeling, and are eloquent with a fervor
which comes straight from the heart. How
ever he may differ from the author, no reader
can fail to respect his evident sincerity and
his literary gifts. — Sunday Chronicle, (San
Francisco.)

16mo., cloth, $1.00.
THE AVE MARIA, Notre Dame, Indiana.

LIFE OF THE CURE OF ARS

BY KATHLEEN O'MEARA

THE AVE MARIA Press, which has done so
much for Catholic literature and truth, has
rendered conspicuous service to the good cause
in publishing this volume. Readers of "Iza's
Story," "Narka," etc., will expect a rare treat
when they see Kathleen O'Meara's name, and
they will not be disappointed. In limpid,
pleasant style she tells the story of this won
derful life, and we would recommend it to all,
especially to those weak-kneed believers who
are fond of concealing those supernatural as
pects of their religion at which the world is so
much inclined to scoff. — Catholic Magazine,
(South Africa.)

A more beautiful story than Kathleen
O'Meara's "Life of the Cure of Ars" would be
hard to find. It is what might be called an
English life, that is, utterly free from the pie
tism which for Americans so often disfigures
the true life of a saint in the hands of French
and Italian writers. It is not that our ideals
of the saint are different, but that for the most
part the saints have suffered from inferior
biographers. With these people the fasts,
lashings, humiliations of the saint, are more
than his life. The means is made the end for
the sake of description, or to cover up the de
ficiencies of the biographer. — Donahoe's Mag-

12mo., cloth, $1.25.
THE AVE MARIA, Notre Dame, Indiana.

BX 4700 .A6 S7 1896 SMC
Stoddard, Charles Warren,
The wonder-worker of Padua
47232685

*

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